Destruction in Central Region: 700 houses submerged in downpour

More than 700 houses were submerged in different communities in the Central Region by floods on Saturday.

A couple of bridges and roads also were destroyed, thereby making the road network impassable.

One of such bridges is the one over River Surowi at Jukwa on the Cape Coast-TwifoPraso road; Jukwais in the Hemang Lower Denkyira District.

A prison officer who tried to assist someone in wading through the flood waters died as he was swept away by the flood.

The floods resulted from the Kakum and Surowi rivers over-flowing their banks due to heavy rainfall in the area.

At Simiw in the Komenda-Edina-Egyuafo-Abrem (KEEA) municipality, over 50 mud houses were destroyed by the floods.

The displaced were currently housed in classrooms and churches or with relatives and friends.

Some affected areas are Simiw, Nkontrodo, Ntranoa, Abina, Atonkwa, and Ankaful in the Elmina Municipality and Amamoma and Kwaprow in the Cape Coast Metropolis.

The house of the Chief Executive Officer of Exim Bank, situated some metres away from the bridge, was flooded, with his vehicles submerged by the raging water.

At Ankaful, the Prisons Quarters were submerged by the floods, and desperate officers who were there called for help.

The Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, toured some of the affected communities with officials of the organisation.

His entourage also included the Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, Head of Local Governance Service, Dr. Nana Ato Arthur, and officials of the KEEA Municipal Assembly.

In his remarks after the tour, Mr. Agyemang-Prempeh stated that the flooding and its associated effect were unfortunate.

He explained that the floods in the region so far were not man-made and expressed the need for people to take precautionary measures.

He urged Ghanaians to be careful with their sanitation by desisting from throwing rubbish into drains, including gutters.

He said the country should expect more rains in the coming days, so there was a need for them to take precautions.

Mr. Agyemang-Prempeh asked those living in flood-prone areas to move to safer grounds.

He later presented some relief items to those affected by the floods.

The Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, in her remarks, said the situation was very problematic.

She expressed appreciation to NADMO for the swift response by attending to the displaced residents of affected communities.

Meanwhile, the bridge at Jukwa is currently being repaired.

Ghanaian Times witnessed a contractor and his workers feverishly repairing the bridge to ensure traffic flow on that stretch of the road.

A release by the Ghana Highway Authority on Saturday directed motorists and commuters heading towards Cape Coast from Twifo or vice-versa to use alternative routes such as Cape Coast-Yamoransa -AssinFosu-TwifoPraso roads.

The traffic has been diverted or reversed, and with the help of announcements made by residents in the nearby communities, no motorists got stranded at the location of the broken bridge.