Western North: Mrs Esther Oppong Amponsah, the Western North Regional Director for the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), has appealed to residents to take proactive measures in anticipation of this year’s rainy season to avoid being affected by floods. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, she indicated that per information from the National Meteorological Unit, this year’s rainfall would be more severe than the previous years.
According to Ghana News Agency, it was therefore important for communities to be informed and prepared to take essential safety measures, and emergency protocols to prevent flooding in the region. ‘Last year, flood-related incidents claimed dozens of lives and properties in the region, so we are taking a proactive stance by shifting from disaster response to prevention through education,’ she said.
Mrs Amponsah noted that many areas flooded because of poor human activities like indiscriminate dumping of refuse, choked gutters, and building on unauthorised places. All these negative actions, she said, exacerbated flooding anytime it rained because the natural ways for waterways should not be blocked.
She said beyond the risk of drowning away lives and properties, flood waters were often contaminated with faecal matters, harmful bacteria and hazardous debris which were dangerous to human health. She urged the government and other stakeholders, especially the Assemblies, to enforce regulations on the issuance of building permits to developers.
Mrs Amponsah said: ‘I suggest the autonomy should be given to the NADMO to give permit to developers and also facilitate the construction of improved drainage system in the flood-prone areas in the region.’ Mrs Amponsah said aside from NADMO’s efforts in educating the public, and the government’s continuous commitment in protecting the people, individuals also had critical roles to play in safeguarding their own lives and properties during flood situations.