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A that killed more than 130 people last week in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, has raised over disaster preparedness  and the urgent lessons that need to be learnt.

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The social construction of risk: The incident points to how people’s risk perception – and needs – can exacerbate vulnerability. Rather than treating the fuel gushing from the damaged tanker prior to the explosion as a hazard, Wellington’s residents tried to collect it as a windfall, underlining how poverty can drive dangerous behaviour.

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Readiness of medical emergency services: The volume of casualties seeking treatment – more than 100 severely burned victims – exposed a critical weakness in the preparedness of medical services.

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Road safety: Road accidents are one of the people face. Despite this, vehicle road safety testing is a rarity in Freetown, and the roadworthiness of large trucks in particular is questionable. 

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Proactive measures to minimise future risk: There is significant scope to improve emergency response mechanisms, including how disaster information is shared and acted upon.

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