The Citizens’ Alliance extends its solidarity, sympathy, and support to all the families affected by Wednesday night’s storm.

The catastrophic damage are highly consequential for the affected families, many of whom were already vulnerable to climate hazards and Environmental degradation.

Therefore, we strongly urge the government of The Gambia to use all available resources to deploy an emergency response to deal with yesterday’s disaster and provide immediate support to every affected family.

Such a swift response is urgent as, in most cases, such natural disasters have more significant effects on vulnerable people, destroying their properties, social infrastructures, and livelihoods.
Disasters caused by these hazards have become significantly severe, especially in countries, like The Gambia, where development planning did not prioritize disaster risk prevention.

As a result, it is time for The Gambia to enforce sustainable environmental policies that build resilient communities and societies in this context of climatic change and increasing natural hazards.