Stakeholders the emergency forum at RCC
The
Spillage of the Bagre Dam coupled with torrential rains between the period of
August and early September this year, has brought a devastating effect in the
entire region leading to loss of lives and properties running in to millions of
Ghana cedis.
The torrential rains which the region and Burkina has experienced
over the period necessitated the spillage of the Bagre Dam causing a lot of
havoc.
The Bagre Dam was spilled on the 31st of August, 2018 at 6:49
am, when the dam reached its maximum spillage level at 235m at 6.00 am that
day.
In line with this, the National Disaster Management
Organization NADMO Upper East Region has organized an emergency stakeholder
forum at the Conference Hall of the Regional Coordinating Council to highlights
the destruction caused to lives and properties as a result of the spillage.
The
Forum brought together 23 representatives of stakeholders made up the various
government institutions, development partners and NADMO Managers of the
affected Districts.
The aim of the forum was to update participants on the
floods situation, solicit more support for the victims and plain for a joint
rapid assessment.
The update was the collaborative work of
NADMO, Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Ghana Red Cross Society in the
Upper East Region.
In his presentation, the Deputy Upper East Regional of NADMO
in charge of operations Paul Wooma noted that, the Flood Disaster situation is
fluid and changing and statistics provided cannot be constant.
He indicated
that as of 10th September, 2018 the Dam was still being spilled as
water level still remained at the maximum level of 235m saying, It has since
not abated and the gauge level at Pwalugu continues to read high.
The
implication is that many farmlands around the river are likely to remain
submerged. Mr. Wooma stated that, damage
done to crops in fields submerged as a result of the Spillage are yet to be
assessed thoroughly as flood waters begin to recede slowly.
He however gave the provisional figures of damage done to farmlands
and houses and WASH facilities as a result of the torrential rains in the
Municipalities and Districts as One hundred and twenty-two 122 communities and Eleven
thousand seven hundred and 39 farmers are affected made up of 7,556 males and 4,183
females.
A total number
of children between the ages of 0-17 years affected stood at 18,286. He said 29,899 acres
are affected an equivalent of 11,959.6 hectares of farmland, adding that
large quantities of food and non-food relief items are required to mitigate the
situation.
Regarding the death toll, Paul Wooma, stated that 15 deaths have so
far been record, explaining that the deaths are indirect cause to the spillage
of the Bagre Dam.
Figures recorded in the Kassena-Nankana Municipal
Navrongo and the Builsa North District indicates that they are the hardest hit in the Upper East Region.
The Regional NADMO Secretariat and the Ghana Red Cross Society have visited
these hard hit communities to help in relief operations and also for
psychosocial counsel to disaster victims. A total of Fifteen 15 Communities have had their buildings affected in the
Kassena-Nankana East Municipality.
One
Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Six 1, 456 people have had their buildings either partially or
completely destroyed in Kologu alone. Relief items had been sent to 156
displaced victims living in Kologu Primary School in the Kassena-Nankana
Municipality.
The
Upper East Regional Director of NADMO, Jerry Asamani, stated that this year’s
spillage and the torrential rains only bring back memories of the 2007 floods
disaster. He indicated further that, aside the death toll which is higher this
year, in terms of scale, the 2007 had more
numbers of farmers affected than this year.
In all these developments,
NADMO Upper East Region together with Operation
Thunderbolt, 2018 have
been monitoring the situation and carrying out sensitization and education and
doing emergency response to the vulnerable population.
Story by : GBC’s Emmanuel Akayeti
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