Heavy rains submerge parts of North East Region - Residents appeal for urgent support

Parts of the  West Mamprusi and East Mamprusi municipalities in  the North East Region have been submerged following a downpour  yesterday morning which lasted for about four hours.

A number of houses, farmlands, livestock and valuable items have all been swept away by the floods.

Walewale, the West Mamprusi Municipal capital, has been cut off from Nalerigu, the regional capital, as a result of a bridge at Gaagbini and a dam at Tinguri which were swept away by the floods, making the main road linking the two towns inaccessible.

Affected communities

Some of the communities severely affected  include, Gaagbini, Tinguri, Mimima, Kuruguduri, Walewale and Nalerigu towns.

The situation has rendered residents of the affected communities homeless, while passengers travelling from Walewale to Nalerigu and adjoining towns have also been left stranded.

As of press time yesterday, Nalerigu remained inaccessible, while officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation(NADMO) were in the area  to assess the situation and rescue the victims.

Victims

Some of the victims, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, said they had lost virtually everything to the floods after being affected for the second time.

A resident, Adam Mahama, said "the whole of my house has been taken over by water; we have no place to sleep today.

A bridge at Kuruguduri washed away by the floods

I am still recovering from last year's disaster and this has also come to compound my predicament."

Another resident, Safia Ali,  who shared a similar sentiment, appealed to the municipal assembly, individuals and organisations to come to their aid, as many of them had had all their properties destroyed.

Perennial

The Assemblyman for the  Nayorku Electoral Area, Seidu Jafaru,  described the incident as perennial , and that the  area had been  experiencing floods over the past years.

He said, for instance, last year,  about 1000 residents of some communities in West Mamprusi were displaced after a downpour in the area.

He, therefore, appealed  for the construction of a bridge and improved drainage system in the area to ensure the free flow of water during downpours.

Assessment

Following the incident, the North East Regional Minister, Yidana Zakaria, and the West Mamprusi Municipal Chief Executive, Issahaku Aremeyaw Somo, visited the affected communities yesterday afternoon to assess the situation and commiserate with the victims.

Mr Zakaria directed officials of NADMO and engineers of the assemblies to, as a matter of urgency, conduct their assessment and present the report to his outfit for the necessary action.

Writer's email:mohammed.fugu@graphic.com.gh