About 272 households displaced in Ketu South tidal waves

Blekusu (V/R), June 13, GNA - About 272 households in four communities in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region have been displaced due to the severe tidal waves which occurred on Sunday 11, 2017.

The communities affected include Blekusu, Agavedzi, Amutinu and Salakorpe.

Some the residents have been left homeless especially women and children, with Blekusu being the worse affected community with 186 households displaced.

Mr Edem Agbenowu, the Municipal Chief Executive in Ketu South briefing Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, the Minister of Works and Housing and his delegation, said the tidal waves was severe and that at a point they had to break some walls to allow free flow of water into the lagoon.

'The situation was severe that when I was walking through the water it almost got to my knee and even above it, and some of the children had to swim to cross to the other communities,' he added.

He said the security services were swift and helped to prevent any chaos.

'The residents at a point in time have to block the roads to prevent vehicles that are passing,' he said.

He said the Municipal Assembly decided to close down the Roman Catholic Basic School at Blekusu in consultation with the Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Education Service to allow affected residents to sleep there since it was dangerous to pass the night in Blekusu.

Mr Atta Akyea commended the Assembly for the timely intervention and called for collaborative effort to address the incidence permanently.

Mr Akyea noted that the tidal waves in the community was not in isolation and that the coast line of the country was about 550 kilometres, saying according to scientific analysis, there was the need to put measures to protect the coast line to avoid any more disaster.

He said it was very capital intensive to manage the coast of any nation and called for local and foreign investors to pre-finance the development of the country's coast land to ensure that the sea did not overwhelm the land, property and the citizenry.

He said the Ministry would impress upon the Ministry of Finance to allocate some special fund in case of emergency situation like the tidal waves.

Akyea advised the youth in the community to exercise restraints and not cause any violence but collaborate with the Assembly and stakeholders to resolve the problem.

He advised the Chiefs and religious bodies and authorities to intensify education on the need to avoid building houses near the coastal lines.

Mr Divine Bosson, the Volta Regional Director of NADMO, said they had to mobilize mattresses and food items to the affected residents.

Some of the residents who spoke to GNA appealed to the government to construct a sea defence wall to protect the coast from the ravages of the waves, since the sea was destroying houses along the coast.

They called on other corporate organizations such as the Town and Country Planning Department, and international agencies such as the UNHCR and World Food Programme to come to the aid of the affected communities.

Seven Sea Salts Limited at Adina donated 20 bags of rice, five cartons of cooking oil, four bags of salts and four cartons of Tomatoes to the affected communities.

GNA

By Kodjo Adams, GNA