Over 10,000 people have been infected with cholera in Sierra Leone and the death toll has reached 176. Over 100 have died in the last month in the capital city, Freetown.

President Ernest Bai Koroma has declared a national emergency.

The Red Cross reports that cases have spiked since mid-July with 6,000 cases in the last five weeks. The rainy season increases the risks for contracting the disease and Amanda McClelland of the International Federation of the Red Cross says there is potential for “devastation” in the country.

The country’s health minister is placing blame for the outbreak on past civil wars and conflicts in the nation that drove people from rural areas controlled by rebels to the cities. Over-populated parts of towns with poor water quality and little to no sanitation increased the risks of disease.

In neighboring Guinea, at least 82 have died this year from the disease but reports say 22 people have died in the last week according to Guinea ministry officials.

Drought through that region of Africa is increasing problems with the disease because of malnourishment. Cholera, which causes acute diarrhea and vomiting, taxes the system of someone malnourished on greater levels than a normal person.