Hundreds of Bodies Recovered after Sierra Leone Mudslide
SESAY: Around the work, many are criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump's comments blaming both sides for the racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The gist of most of the comments is that racism and anti-Semitism should be condemned directly and definitively. Here's a sample of what public figures and newspaper headlines in different countries are saying.</s>OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Oren Liebermann, in Jerusalem, were Israeli politicians from across the spectrum have slammed President Donald Trump's equivalency between white supremacist and counter protesters. One said the symmetry legitimizes, quote, "dark and evil forces." Another said the neo- Nazis need to stand trial. A muted reaction has come from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who issued his own direct statement only three days after the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and then only on social media, and only after President Donald Trump condemned white supremacists. His son, meanwhile, on a post on his public Facebook page suggested Neo-Nazis are a, quote, "dying breed," even after they just held a torch-bearing rally brandishing Nazi swastikas in Virginia. Benjamin Netanyahu's son said there is a growing danger from movements on the left, such as the so-called Antifa, a loosely associated group of anti-fascist movements, saying that it is a greater threat to America. A source close to the Prime Minister said Netanyahu's son is an adult and his views are his alone.</s>CHRIS BURNS, JOURNALIST: Hi, I'm Chris Burns, in Berlin. Strong reaction from some German media and German politicians. "Des Spiegel" online saying, "The downplaying of hatred." And they showed a transcript of Trump's exchange with reporters. Saying how Trump strengthens hatred and violence. "Bild" newspaper leading with "The haters, how Trump trivializes rightist violence in Charlottesville. We heard from the justice minister today, saying, "It is unbearable how Trump also glosses over the violence during the march." Reaction from Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, over the weekend, saying what happened in Charlottesville is racist. Far-right violence and clear forceful action must be taken against it. The Social Democrat candidate, running against here, saying, "Nazis must be decisively confronted. What Trump is doing is a fire hazard.</s>ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORERSPONDENT: I'm Isa Soares, in London, where Prime Minister Theresa May has been condemning the far- right views being expressed in the United States. She says she sees no equivalence between those who espouse such views and those who oppose them. But she didn't go as far as to mention President Trump by name. However, M.P.s in the U.K. who have been calling on the prime minister to cancel President Trump's state visit to Britain. No word yet from Mrs. May on that. We had heard a similar strong-worded statement from Ireland who says, and I'm quoting here, "It condemns outright, with no equivocation, the bigotry as well as the fascism that is playing out in the United States."</s>SESAY: Iran's supreme leader posted his reaction to the Virginia protests on his official Web site. He said, "If you are a powerful state, then go manage your own country. If you really care, then tackle the insecurities and violence on the streets of Washington, D.C., New York City and Los Angeles. If you really care, go fix racial discrimination and the disastrous violations of human rights of both whites and blacks in your own country. Mind your own business rather than meddling with other nation's affairs." We must point out that the ayatollah is an on-the-record denier of the Holocaust. The North African nation of Sierra Leone is in the midst of several days of mourning. Rescue workers have recovered more than 300 bodies after a devastating mudslide and heavy flooding near the capitol, Freetown. More than one-third of the victims were children. The death toll is expected to rise even further, with more than 600 people still missing. Farai Sevenzo reports.</s>FARAI SEVENZO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A disaster so unexpected, so massive, it buries everything in its path. Carrying people and houses below more than a mile from where they had been sleeping.</s>SEVENZO: Now, days later, rescuers search through thick red mud outside of Sierra Leone's capitol.</s>SEVENZO: Hope that anyone survived is gone, as body after body is pulled from the mud.</s>SEVENZO: The military is out in force. Some of the dead will be buried in mass graves.</s>SEVENZO: Desperate families crowd outside, waiting for news of their loved one.</s>SEVENZO: Disaster has struck again.</s>SEVENZO: Heavy rains Monday caused a mudslide down the mountain, turning homes in the streets below into rushing rapids of wet earth and mud, ending hundreds of lives, many of them children.</s>SEVENZO: Survivors rush now to register themselves and their little ones as alive.</s>SEVENZO: Farai Sevenzo, CNN.</s>SESAY: That is so difficult to see those. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now. Derek, there is concern of another landslide being on the horizon. What does the forecast showing? Talk to us about what you are seeing.</s>DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Isha, we're just now rounding the second half of the rainy season across West Africa. That's means we have weeks left of the potential for heavy rainfall. It doesn't mean a landslide is imminent. It just means that the likelihood is still there for additional landslides for this part of the world. Frequent tropical waves ultimately turn into our hurricanes across the Atlantic Ocean, they form across West Africa. And unfortunately, it has been raining extremely hard. In fact, they have seen over 700 millimeters since the beginning of July, which is over 200 percent of their normal average rainfall. Our computer models are picking up what we're seeing and our computer models are picking on at least another 100 to 150 millimeters of rain over the next two to three days. Adding more concerns for additional landslides. But there's a whole myriad of problems that have added or contributed to the potential for landslides, and it's not only the heavy rainfall. It is also the deforestation problem that continues to occur. If we go back past 100 years, we have lost nearly 90 percent of what is called the Upper Ghanaian Forest (ph), which stretches from Sierra Leone right through the Western Africa region. And that has led to a major problem in terms landslides. In fact, deforestation, losing vegetation can increase the threat of a landslide by 50 percent. Let me try to explain here. So when you have a steep mountain slope that has trees and vegetation in place, the root structure actually holds the mountainside in place. But we come in and clear out the forests, you actually lose that and the mountainside destabilizes. Heavy rain comes and ultimately the water, the rock and debris needs to go somewhere. And it is going to go down downhill and that is where we see communities that gets ultimately obliterated by these fast-moving landslides that push through the region. You have to see this as well, because when you look into Sierra Leone, particularly in the Freetown region, you can say just how mountainous this part of the world actually is. The region hit the hardest is near the Sugarloaf Mountain region that they were talking about a moment going to in the package, that is the region that is so mountainous and that has seen this high amount of deforestation. So you can imagine that that any amount of heavy rainfall will continue to slide right down the mountainside and impact communities across this area. So going forward, Isha, we do expect more rainfall again. We still have several more weeks of the rainy season to go. It does not end until the end of October. So the potential for landslides still exists.</s>SESAY: Yes. It is my home country. I spent my childhood there. I have family there. This is a devastating time for the entire nation. And with all this rain and the bodies that have not been found, comes the threat of disease as well. Derek Van Dam, we thank you. Thank you.</s>VAN DAM: Thanks, Isha.</s>SESAY: Let's take a quick break. Actor Daniel Craig says he gave a stupid answer the last time someone asked him if he would play James Bond. Find out what he's saying now, next on NEWSROOM L.A.