Eastern floods kill five die, more than 2,000 now homeless

Koforidua, July 25, GNA - So far, a total of five persons have been reported dead in the Eastern Region floods that have rendered about 2,000 residents homeless and destroyed 700 houses.

The deceased are all from Ekroso in the Atiwa District, while the rest of the victims are generally from six communities in four districts.

This was known when Dr Kwasi Akyem Apea-Kubi, the Eastern Regional Minister, in the company of Mr Ransford Owusu-Boakye, Eastern Regional Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and other officials inspected some of the flooded areas over the weekend.

The other affected areas are Bosuso and Osino in the Fanteakwa District, Asamankese in West Akyem District, Kade and Adankrono in the Kwaebibirem District.

Some of the homeless are now temporarily perching at palaces of their chiefs or staying with their friends and relatives.

The Minister with his entourage entered every affected home to express his commiseration to the victims and also to find out what his outfit could do quickly to help them.

The residents have been restricted from going to their farms to get some foodstuffs for their families because farm lands have been submerged, while in the case of Kade-Adankrono and Ekroso-Abomosu for instance, residents can not cross to other end of their communities without canoes. The transportation fee is GHc1.

Assessing the situation, Dr Apea-Kubi observed that the major rivers, streams and gutters in the various towns and communities had been choked with garbage and weeds thereby causing the waters to divert their flows into the homes of residents.

With this, he reminded the townspeople that they also had a role to play in avoiding disasters in their respective areas and appealed to the chiefs and residents to often organize communal labour to clear all weeds and garbage from the streams and gutters, especially, before rainy seasons, to allow the free flow of waters.

Dr Apea-Kubi also urged chiefs of galamsey areas to help fight against it because it was a major cause of the flood in their areas.

The regional NADMO distributed relief items to all the affected areas and promised them more items from the national office.

The items given include, student mattresses, mats, lanterns, plastic bowls and buckets, bags of rice and beans, boxes of soap and detergents and second-hand clothing.

GNA