ABOUT 1,300 residents in the Gomoa East District in the Central Region have been displaced following last Sunday’s heavy downpour, which destroyed property worth millions of cedis.
The rains, which also caused River Ayensu to overflow its banks, submerged most villages in the district leaving hundreds of travellers stranded on the Accra-Winneba road.
These came to light when a team from the Ministry of Roads and Highways, led by the Minister, Mr Joe Gidisu, and some media men visited the area last Monday.
According to the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr Ekow-Panyin Eduamoah, the phenomenon has been an annual problem.
He, however, expressed shock at the state of the devastation, adding that “it has not rained heavily for the past months and I don’t even know where the water is coming from”.
The Okyereko community which serves as the major link between Accra and Winneba was the most devastated.
Mr Eduamoah said information reaching him also showed that other roads at Agona Swedru and the neighbouring communities had also been destroyed by the rains.
Mr Gidisu said the situation was more than a national disaster and appealed to other bodies to support the flood victims.
“Government can do little as at now but I believe we will do our best to support the victims”.
He also appealed to travellers to exercise patience and work with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to bring some peace to the communities.
Nana Konadu Agyeman reports that the heavy downpour triggered a landslide at Peduase-Water Works road, a stretch of the Pantang-Mamfe dual carriage road.
The landslide occurred close to a two-storey building on the edge of a rocky mountain, blocking a section of the road.
It made travelling from the Akuapem Ridge to Accra impossible, compelling motorists to use the other section of the road along the rocky mountain that saw several blasts during the construction of the 31-kilometre road.
When the Daily Graphic team visited the scene yesterday, a number of construction workers were there waiting for the arrival of an excavator to get the debris off the road.
Henrietta Brocke reports that the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, has underscored the need to sustain national effort to demolish buildings and structures on watercourses in the aftermath of last Sunday’s floods.
That, he said, was to ensure the free flow of water along such routes to prevent flooding.
Mr Ashietey made the remarks when he led a government delegation to tour some flood-affected areas in Accra and Tema yesterday.
Among the delegation were the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Dr Appiah Kubi; the Tema Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Kempis Ofosu-Ware; the Member of Parliament for Kpong Katamanso, Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, and the Member of Parliament for Tema West, Naa Torshie Addo.
Others were the Chief Director of the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), Mr Fats Nartey, and officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).
The team first visited Tema where 108 affected victims have been relocated by NADMO to the Tema Naval Base.
At Sakumono, the Sakumono Lagoon was full of debris which affected the flow of water, a situation which adversely affected the construction of the railway line at Sakumono.
During the tour, it was observed that roads in the affected areas had been destroyed while some fuel filling stations had their pumping machines damaged.
The regional minister stated that the construction of drainage would be embarked upon to enable rainwaters to flow through them easily.
For his part, the National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Kofi Portuphy, said a medical team would be sent to where the flood victims had been accommodated, to give them medical care. Additionally, NADMO would provide the victims with relief items.
Some of the resettled victims expressed their gratitude to the government and NADMO for their support.
They also called on non-governmental organisations, public-spirited individuals and the public to assist them.
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