Tema Metropolitan Assembly rolls out anti-human-induced flooding programme
The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has rolled out an anti-human-induced flooding programme to ensure that the Tema Region was protected from man-made disasters.
Mr. Frank Asante, Public Relations Officer of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), who disclosed it, said “We in Tema want to have a flooding-free raining season, we have put in measures to remove human-induced flooding, the residents must join and work with the assembly to ensure that our target is achieved”.
Mr. Asante an interview monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema, identified some of the TMA Anti-Human-Induced pre-raining activities as the deployment of the National Disaster Management Organization(NADMO) personnel who engaged people in the communities and guided them as to how best they could keep their environment to avoid the human-induced flood.
Other activities included desilting of major drains which are the storm drains to allow the free flow of running water as well as equipping the assembly members whose areas have such drains with the necessary equipment to undertake regular desilting of the drains.
He noted that the idea of this operation was to allow the drains to carry a lot of running water out of the community into the bigger water bodies and ultimately into the sea.
Mr. Asante said the assembly has adopted proactive instead of reactive measures this year to reduce incidents of flooding in Tema as much as possible to prevent disasters from happening.
He also noted that the operation clean your frontage campaign ties into what TMA seeks to achieve adding that the operation entails cleanliness and ensuring that all the drains and surroundings are clean which the aim of the assembly was also.
“The operation clean your frontage fits correctly into what we seek to achieve and I am glad the message has gone down well to the people,” he added.
He said they are currently going out with their men and ensuring that residents adhere to the directive and offenders would be given the necessary caution after which if they don’t correct the wrongdoings, the lawfully prescribed punishment would be applied.
He said there has been improvement ever since the implementation of the operation and the consciousness it has brought because everybody was now making sure of the cleanliness of their area.
He advised residents not to live in flood-prone areas adding that in situations where they find themselves in the flooding areas, they are to move to safe havens in the communities.
“The safe havens are higher ground in the communities that they can move to temporarily for safety especially when the rains come in the night,” he said.