Upper West: Over 150 People Displaced By Rainstorm In Kpongu

A severe rainstorm has hit Kpongu, a small community in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region. The disaster which occured in the early hours of Wednesday as a result of a heavy downpour has rendered over 150 people homeless.

Some of the victims are currently sharing shelter with friends and neighbours while others are still wondering where to find solace.

The rainstorm is one that is unprecendented and have therefore shocked many residents in the area. The rain disaster has worsened the plight of the people in the area since most of these victims are very vulnerable. Only one casualty has been recorded whiles property estimated at about GHC 8,000 were destroyed.

The storm ripped off the roof of both public and individual buildings with one of the seriously affected ones being the Al-Azar Islamic Junior High School.

One of the victims, Karim Abu who got his hand broken as a result of the disaster narrated what happened and how he managed the situation saying "I was fast asleep when i heard a sound, so I woke up and before I could do anything, my roof was completely ripped off, i rushed out to seek refuge elsewhere but unfortunately I slipped and fell on my hand and it got broken. But i still thank God for my life."

One of the NADMO officials who visited the area, Mr. Abdul-Razak Gado described the situation as an agony, considering the living standards of the people in the area.

He however pledged that their office would mobilize resources as soon as possible to salvage the situation as many of these victims are stranded and has no one to rely on but also appealed to philantropists to support the victims in order to save them from their situation.

The Assemblyman of the area Hon.Yakubu Saliah lamented over the situation but called on the victims to stay calm as NADMO pulls together resources to support them. He advised the people of the area to plant more trees to serve as windbreaks in order to protect their houses but appealed to the them to stop bushburning and the indiscriminate cutting down of trees since it destroys the vegetation of the area.

Meanwhile some big trees including cash crops such as shea nuts have also been hit by the rainstorm.