Flood victims in Northern Region call for quick response

• Posted on September 6, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Communities along the White Volta in the Northern Region impacted by the spillage of excess water from the Bagre Dam in neighbouring Burkina Faso have called for a quick response to the plight of victims of the spillage.

They have appealed to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to relocate the ‘Operation Thunderbolt’, team closer to the affected communities.

‘Operation Thunderbolt’, a rescue team established by NADMO to address the challenges confronting communities affected by the flooding, is currently stationed in Walewale in the West Mamprusi municipality, which is far from the communities.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the people said the relocation of the rescue team would enable it to respond quickly to emergency situations in the affected communities.

The distance between the affected communities and the place where the rescue team is stationed is about 45 kilometres, equivalent to two hours’ drive.

The flood situation had also made roads leading to the affected communities inaccessible, they added.

The hardest hit communities are Janga, Nasia, Kpasenkpe, Duu, Nabari, Kokua, Yagba-Kubori, Daboya and Mankarigu in the West Mamprusi municipality, the Mamprugu/Moaduri and the North Gonja districts.

Devastation

The appeal is coming on the heels of the death of a 13-year-old boy at Zangum, a farming community in the West Mamprusi municipality, who got drowned last Tuesday afternoon.

According to NADMO officials, the deceased fell into an abandoned sand-winning pit which had been filled by the flood waters.

The West Mamprusi Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent of Police Mr Obrako Sarpong Bempah, confirmed the death of the boy, whose name he gave as Raihan Yahaya.

He said the body had since been released to the family for burial, in accordance with Islamic tradition.

Although this is the first casualty recorded since the spillage, hundreds of residents living along the White Volta in the region have been experiencing the devastating effects of the situation, while several acres of farmland are also submerged.

Intervention

The Northern Regional Operations Manager of NADMO, Mr Abu Adam, said officers had been deployed to the affected areas to assess the extent of damage to enable them to distribute relief items to the victims.

“Our team is on the ground working hard to ensure that we rescue persons who may be trapped by the flood waters. We are also assessing the extent of damage, so that we can provide relief items for those displaced,” he stated.