Upper East Prepares for possible flooding

07-08-2010 The Upper East Regional Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Patrick Akake says his outfit has put in place adequate measures to protect lives and property in case of any eventuality of flooding. In view of this, NADMO in collaboration with Zoomlion-Ghana and other community volunteers are embarking on a clean up exercise to desilt and clean all chocked gutters in communities identified as flood prone areas. Mr. Akake who disclosed this to Radio Ghana said the exercise has become necessary due to the numerous flood alerts and warning systems in the event of spillage from the Bagre dam as announced by the Burkinabe authorities. According to him, flooding in some parts of the region as a result of spillage from neigbouring Burkina-Faso has become an annual ritual that occurs between the month of August through to September and October, hence the need for the exercise. He mentioned the 2007 flooding in the three Northern Regions as one of the worst disasters the regions have recorded and appealed to residents in the region to be mindful of activities that cause waterways to be chocked. Mr. Akake, noted that all precautionary measures have been made to forestall any event. Moreover, his outfit as part of its contingency planning has requested for logistics and other relief items including food stuffs from the NADMO headquarters, to cater for victims in case of any flooding and appealed to residents to be cautious of activities that cause flooding. The Municipal Director of NADMO, Mr. Edward Ayagle, also in an interview with Radio Ghana, urged all disaster volunteers to be proactive by involving all community members to take part in the ongoing exercise. Mr Ayagle appealed to the various municipal and district assemblies to assist in the ongoing exercise by providing the necessary tools and machinery that can help rid off all unwanted materials from waterways. He also called on residents in flood prone areas to be on the alert. The head of the volunteer group, Banaba Adime Atindanbire also advised members of the various communities to desist from throwing refuse into drains since those caught would not be spared.
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