3000 people displaced as tidal waves hit Volta Region

A tidal wave surge has displaced over 3,000 people living along the coastal belt in the Volta Region.

Areas affected include Ada, Lolonyakope, Totope, Talikope.

Reports indicate that for some weeks now, residents in the areas have had to be relocated by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) due to the damages caused by the tidal waves to their homes.

Speaking on the Citi Prime News, National Coordinator of NADMO, Mr. Kofi Portuphy said the Organisation has had to provide warm clothing, shelter and food for the affected people.

According to him in the long term, some of the residents will have to be resettled from the affected areas but noted that it would be a difficult task since most of them were fishermen and had been resident in the area for over fifteen years.

“Because they are fishermen, they would not like to move from this locality. It's been so for them for the last fifteen twenty years. But this time government is determined to address the problems of the tidal waves to make our people feel safer”, he said.

According to him, the surge so far has been “very, very serious” threatening the residents in the area.

Mr. Kofi Portuphy added that “we are getting to the time that the surge will begin. When it gets to 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon then it starts. It's beginning to threaten again,” he said.

“A bridge very close to the popular hotel, Mannet Paradise is caved in. It's collapsed because of the waves and there's some emergency work that we have to do to make the area accessible otherwise we may not even have the road again to reach the communities with relief materials.”

The National NADMO coordinator said that the people of Totope have however agreed on a resettlement fee and agreed to move to another area known as Zanukope and said NADMO had to provide some form of minimum comfort for the people since “they cannot go and fish and pursue their daily income generating programs.”

By: citifmonline.com