7 August 2007
Torrential rains for the past few days provoked high sea tides into the port cities of Buchanan and Robertsport, situated in Grand Bassa County and Grand Cape Mount County respectively.
According to eyewitnesses and victims from the two counties, the Atlantic Ocean over the weekend surged into the cities, destroying over a hundred residential buildings and market structures, which are conservatively estimated at over several million United States dollars.
Buchanan city, which is about 188 kilometers from Monrovia, saw three days of heavy down pour of rain, which eventually pressurized the sea to trespass its usual limits into the dry land.
The waves swept away the commercial neighborhood of Fanti Town, Atlantic Street and the surrounding quarters at 8:00 in the evening on Friday, August 3, 2007.
At the time of the dangerous waves, many residents were already in bed, when the waves broke down the structures of the affected communities.
Some victims of the waves told our reporter in Buchanan that there was no human casualty; but that the erosion caused serious setbacks to the county's reconstruction drive and left the entire population in fear.
"The sea has attacked our community as if rebels were the ones invading us, sweeping all our belongings away", lamented one of the female victims, who were poorly clothed.
When our reporter visited the affected areas, many of the residential buildings were seen destroyed as if wartime missiles had been used to attack them. This is not the first time that the Atlantic Ocean has attacked the port city of Buchanan.
The County Administration and the Red Cross in the city over the weekend evacuated most of the affected people from the devastated zone, and transferred them to safer areas, with some traveling to their relatives in other parts of the city or to rural parts.
In addressing the appalling conditions of the victims, the plenary of the House of Representatives constituted an eight-man committee, with a mandate to come to the aid of the people of that coastal port city.
Meanwhile, reports emanating from Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County reveal that the Atlantic tidal wave similarly destroyed over 100 residential buildings and marketing structures in Kru Town.
Although reports from the county are still being investigated, some of the people who claimed to have returned from the city over the weekend said that their areas were badly hit by the Atlantic Ocean following 3-day heavy downpour of rain that attacked the Kru Town community.
According to the reports the ocean broke down people's homes, and destroyed several thousands dollars of properties.
The Robertspot residents added that the Red Cross, the County Administration and other aid workers have transferred the people to the Robertsport High School for temporary shelters.
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