Monrovia sinks – Liberia plans to build new capital city

Africa’s oldest republic is considering taking a drastic step – they are considering moving the capital from flood-plagued Monrovia to a completely different location. In late July this year. the country’s senators proposed building a new city to reduce the humanitarian and economic losses associated with increasingly stormy weather and a steady rise in sea levels. If realized, the venture would be one of the boldest adaptation solutions to climate change.

Flooding in Monrovia

In late June, the Liberian capital was hit by violent and heavy rainfall. After three days of torrential downpours, the sea broke into the city, and in addition, the Mesurado River broke out of its banks. A total of 75 municipalities were affected by the flooding, with Monrovia residents suffering the most. Estimates from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put the number of affected people at 51,000, who were evacuated from their family homes. Up to 68 percent. of them are women, children and people with disabilities.

This was not the first nor, arguably, the last dramatic flooding in Liberia’s oceanfront capital. In early September 2023. more than 15,000 city residents were evacuated due to flooding. A year earlier , July floods affected 17,000 households.

Liberia’s National Emergency Management Agency, even before the start of this year’s rainy season, has issued a warning of an extremely high risk of flooding. According to experts, up to 100,000 citizens could be affected by heavy rains caused by climate change.

Causes of the crisis in Monrovia

The Liberian capital is home to a total of more than 1.7 million citizens – more than a third of the population of the entire country. Unfortunately, the city, which is more than 200 years old, is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis. The capital is overcrowded, and the existing infrastructure does not meet even a fraction of social needs. Senator Dabah Varpilah of Grand Cape Mount County, who is one of the initiators of the project to build a new city, has openly stated that Monrovia’s decline has gone too far for other options.

The situation is worst in the urban slums of West Point, where more than 75,000 people live in disastrous conditions, sharing few public toilets. According to the Front Page Africa media agency, a significant number of residents take care of their needs directly on the beach. Another problem is the waste piling up in the capital, which no one cleans up, and which blocks drains, impeding the drainage of flood waters.

Flooding in Monrovia not only destroys buildings, but also spreads garbage and fecal matter throughout the area, drastically increasing the risk of spreading water-borne diseases. In addition, the sea level on the Liberian coast is constantly rising. According to the Global Adaptation Center, from 2022 to 2030. is expected to rise by 16 cm, threatening the well-being of 650,000. people and flooding 9.5 hectares of usable land.

Monrovia is already the world ‘s wettest capital – the annual rainfall here is 500 cm and growing. If global forecasts linking climate change to increased rainfall intensity are to be believed, the Liberian metropolis is indeed at an impasse.

Will Liberia have a new capital?

The idea of building a new capital in Liberia was first floated back in 2012. – The initiative was put forward by the country’s then president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She even proposed a location in the Nimba region, in the north of the country. However, the idea did not meet with interest.

After the experience of recent rainy seasons, including this year’s, yet to be completed, Liberian Senate representatives have returned to the topic of building a new capital. The impetus came from a report compiled by an inter-ministerial committee, which indicated the extent of flood damage affecting the capital’s residents year after year.

For the time being, the site for the construction of the new city has not yet been identified. Senator Varpilah openly admitted that this is not an undertaking that can be accomplished overnight. Currently, the biggest problem is the failure to comply with zoning regulations, which leads to the construction of buildings in the most flood-prone zones.

The suggestion to relocate Liberia’s capital, for the time being, evokes mixed feelings. According to many senators, it’s a necessity that should start planning responsibly today, with future generations in mind. Skeptics, on the other hand, point to the unbearable costs for a country with an annual budget of less than $740 million. Currently, the senators’ suggestion has been addressed by Liberia’s Ministry of Public Affairs.

Photo. main: blk24ga, CC BY 3.0/commons.wikimedia.org/