On the night of August 21, 2025, tragedy struck the rural commune of Maneah in Guinea, about 50 kilometers from the country’s bustling capital, Conakry. Heavy rains that had battered the region for days finally triggered a catastrophic landslide, burying homes and leaving a community reeling. As of Thursday, at least 11 people had lost their lives, with another 10 seriously injured. Authorities cautioned that the death toll could climb as rescue operations pressed on.
The disaster unfolded with little warning. According to the National Agency for Emergency Management, the hillside collapse followed several days of intense rainfall, a relentless onslaught that saturated the ground and made it dangerously unstable. When the earth finally gave way late Wednesday, it crashed down onto homes that housed more than 20 families, trapping entire households beneath the debris. The chaos that followed was immediate and overwhelming, as survivors and neighbors scrambled to mount a rescue effort with whatever resources they could muster.
Guinea’s legislative leader, Dansa Kourouma, was among the first to arrive at the scene, joining residents and emergency crews as they dug through the mud and rubble in search of survivors. His presence was both practical and symbolic—a sign that the country’s leaders were standing shoulder to shoulder with their people in a moment of crisis. “I am with my people and we must combine our small efforts with the collective effort, our small intelligence with the collective intelligence to succeed, to find people in life, and I pray and I offer my prayer. Before coming here, I prayed that we would save as many lives as possible,” Kourouma said, according to local reports. His words echoed the hope and desperation felt by so many that night.
In the immediate aftermath, the rescue effort quickly became a community-wide operation. Local volunteers rushed to the scene, some bringing heavy machinery, others arriving with only hand tools or shovels. Mamadou Bangoura, a volunteer first responder, described the scene with grim clarity: “We moved the tank carrier, the machines to come and dig up those who are there because there was a landslide. All the houses were home to about twenty families, all the houses had floors. So when we came, there was no access. We bought shovels, we sent a lot of things to save the people.” The urgency was palpable; every minute mattered as families searched desperately for missing loved ones.
Authorities confirmed on August 22 that at least 11 people had been killed and another 10 seriously injured. The numbers, though already heartbreaking, were not final. With rescue operations ongoing and many believed to still be trapped beneath the debris, officials warned that the death toll was likely to rise. Emergency teams, bolstered by local volunteers and government support, continued to dig through the wreckage, driven by the hope of finding survivors against the odds.
The disaster in Maneah has thrown a harsh spotlight on Guinea’s vulnerability to extreme weather events, a reality that has become all too familiar across West Africa in recent years. Just a year ago, the region was devastated by record floods that killed over 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. The memory of those floods is still fresh in the minds of many Guineans, and the latest tragedy has reignited concerns about the nation’s preparedness for increasingly severe weather patterns.
Experts point to a combination of factors that make rural communities like Maneah particularly susceptible to landslides and flooding. Rapid population growth and expanding settlements often mean that homes are built in areas prone to natural hazards, sometimes with little oversight or infrastructure to mitigate the risks. The heavy rains that triggered this week’s landslide are part of a broader trend of more intense and unpredictable weather, which scientists attribute in part to climate change. For families living on the edge, the threat is constant and the consequences, as seen this week, can be devastating.
As rescue operations continued into Thursday and beyond, the mood in Maneah was one of both grief and resolve. Families gathered at the site, some searching for missing relatives, others offering support to neighbors who had lost everything. The sense of community was palpable, even in the face of overwhelming loss. Local officials and aid organizations moved quickly to provide emergency assistance, setting up temporary shelters and distributing food and water to those displaced by the landslide.
For many in Guinea, the tragedy in Maneah is a stark reminder of the urgent need for better disaster preparedness and infrastructure. While the country has made strides in recent years, resources remain limited and many communities still lack the tools and training needed to respond effectively to natural disasters. The National Agency for Emergency Management, which confirmed the details of the collapse, has called for greater investment in early warning systems, improved drainage, and stronger building codes to help reduce the risk of future tragedies.
Political leaders, too, have been quick to acknowledge the scale of the challenge. Dansa Kourouma’s decision to join the rescue effort in person was widely seen as a sign of solidarity, but also as a call to action for the government to do more to protect vulnerable communities. “We must combine our small efforts with the collective effort,” he said—a sentiment that resonated with many across the country.
The landslide in Maneah has also drawn attention from international organizations, many of which have offered support and expertise in the wake of the disaster. With climate change expected to bring more frequent and severe weather events to West Africa, the need for regional cooperation and investment in resilience has never been greater. For the people of Maneah, however, the focus remains on the immediate task at hand: finding survivors, caring for the injured, and beginning the long process of rebuilding their lives.
As the sun set over Maneah on Thursday, the search continued. Every shovel of earth turned, every voice raised in hope, was a testament to the community’s determination not to be defined by tragedy. While the scars left by the landslide will take time to heal, the spirit of solidarity and resilience on display offers a glimmer of hope for the future.
