Freetown's century-old "cotton tree," one of Sierra Leone's landmarks, lost all its branches after a heavy storm Wednesday night. Of the giant ceiba of 70 meters, known as "Cotton Tree" only the base of its huge trunk remains.
The image of the tree decorated banknotes and stamps, and is so famous that Queen Elizabeth II visited it in 1961. Under this tree the slaves prayed and thanked heaven for their deliverance at the end of the 18th century.