Earthquake Scare Causes Panic
There was pandemonium in the country when thousands of Ghanaians, from Aflao in the Volta region to Zebila in the North, had their sleep disrupted early Monday morning following reports that an earthquake was going to hit Accra and other parts of the country.
In sheer fright of the looming danger, several people through the power of the mobile phone, woke up relatives and friends across the country with chilling messages of the impending Armageddon, which turned out to be nothing but a hoax.
However, the newly-elected Propaganda Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Richard Quarshigah, jumped into the fray in a very embarrassing manner, with the accusation that the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) was behind the killer rumour.
Some lined up the streets or tried to climb onto coconut trees, while others living in coastal towns rushed to the beaches as though they were mimicking the residents of the Haitian capital shortly after the earthquake struck the Caribbean country with devastating consequences.
Although the whole thing turned out to be a hoax, it showed the Ghanaian camaraderie and sense of belongingness.
DAILY GUIDE learnt that it all started on Sunday when a text message relying on a phony United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was spread around by whoever chanced upon it.
Mobile phones played a key role in spreading the rumour as people made calls to their friends and relations, length and breadth of the country, in the wee hours of the night, so they would be ready for the impending calamity.
Many were unable to catch on with their normal sleep schedules as they were woken up midway in their slumber.
With bleary eyes, panic-stricken residents of Takoradi said they had telephone calls from relatives and friends in Tema and other places, warning them about an imminent earthquake.
DAILY GUIDE was told about how a man, bedridden with stroke, was quickly brought out of his room and laid on the ground when the rumour got to the family.
End-times evangelists' recent predictions aggravated the situation, with people chanting and praying as though faced with an imminent Indonesian tsunami or Haitian earthquake.
The Director of the Geological Surveys Department, John Agyei Duodu, dispelled the rumour with an explanation that earthquakes cannot be predicted, especially with outmoded equipment.
Since Ghana's coastline is earthquake-prone, he said, “We monitor through regular checkups”.
In case of an earthquake, he noted, “the best practice is through education on what to do and what not to do. We must be alert.”
The rumour should have been treated with contempt, he asserted, explaining that “as at now, we cannot monitor because all our equipment have broken down for the past two years. On the geological map, there are so many red spots on the coastline especially the meeting point between Accra and Winneba and these indicate earthquake zones”.
Earthquakes, he said, occur when the core of the earth move as a result of heat emanating from within the earth. Cracks develop through a force and the resultant escape of heat through the weak zones cause earthquakes.
Government, he said, has promised releasing funds for the purchase of a $3.5 million seismic equipment.
Axim, the scientist disclosed, experienced an earthquake in 1936 during which a Portuguese mining station collapsed.
This was followed by a major earthquake in Cape Coast and Accra in 1939 which measured 6.5 on the Richter scale. A measurement of between 1 and 4.9 is a tremor and not a quake as experienced in recent times.
The 1939 earthquake affected places like Aburi, Adukrom, Akuapem Ridge, Ho, McCarthy Hill and parts of Accra Central.
The 1939 earthquake caused extensive damage to houses in Bukom and Jamestown especially. Nyanyano village in the Central Region was destroyed and the CID headquarters in Accra Central developed cracks.
The British colonial authorities tasked Messrs N.R. Junner and D.A. Bates to probe the disaster and the gentlemen expressed surprise that the government headquarters was located in Accra. They recommended a relocation to a place northwest of the Akwapim area.
Seven thousand houses were put up for victims who lost their houses in Bukom and Jamestown. The re-housing of Accra began on 29th June 1939.
While some attributed the wild rumour to the BBC and the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) in the US, others just could not say the source of the hoax.
Both the BBC and NASA, according to deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had denied putting out such information.
He added, “It's nothing but a wild rumour orchestrated and aimed at causing commotion and panic. It is not true, we have checked from all the official agencies.”
The National Security, the deputy minister said, has been tasked to seek the source of the rumour.
The newly-elected Propaganda Secretary of the NDC, Richard Quashigah, has reportedly linked the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to the rumour, claiming that the party put it out to douse the recent outcome of his party's congress.
This has been however described by NPP elements as nothing but a propaganda ploy, with Quashigah trying to please his paymasters in line with his new portfolio.