The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in Keta Municipality of the Volta Region, has educated the public on the causes and effects of flood disasters.
The NADMO emphasised that it was important to create awareness and preparedness ahead of the rainy season to mitigate the impact of floods as well as prevent any unforeseen disasters.
Mry Godknows Blebu, the NADMO Director at Keta, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, cautioned the public to avoid putting building structures on waterways which could exacerbate flooding in the area.
“Waterways are natural paths for water to flow and constructing buildings or structures on them can block the flow of water which could lead to flooding,” he said.
He highlighted some of the common causes of floods in the area during previous raining season which include heavy rainfall, poor drainage, and human activities such as building on waterways and chocked gutters and emphasised that understanding the causes of floods was crucial in preventing and mitigating the impact.
He also explained the devastating effects of floods which include loss of life, destruction of property, and displacement of people and noted that floods can also lead to waterborne diseases, damage to infrastructure, and disruption of economic activities and urged all to implement proactive measures to prevent flooding.
Mr Blebu said: “It is importance to create awareness and educate the public about the preventive methods to mitigate the impact of floods and we must encourage the public to take serious steps to protect themselves and their properties from flood disasters.”
Mr Blebu pointed out the critical role of NADMO in disaster management in Ghana, including flood disasters, and organisation also work to educate the public, provide emergency response, and support affected communities in times of disasters.
He said that NADMO at Keta has been engaging with the communities specially flood prone areas such as Abutiakope, Lawoshime, Hagodzi, Mamime, Songbe among others on prevention and mitigation strategies.
He encouraged the public to participate in the efforts and take responsibilities for safety during the rainy season.
Mr Blebu said prevention and preparedness were key to mitigate the impact of floods and the public should take immediate actions to protect themselves and properties from flood disasters to eliminate any uncomfortable and unfortunate situations.
He said the NADMO is working with the stakeholders such as assembly members, community leaders, groups and other organisation to address the issues of flooding in Keta and beyond and recommended public collaborative efforts which involved communal labour among others in the communities.
Some residents in Keta GNA interacted with expressed fear about flood disaster in the areas which they attributed to poor drainage system, sand winning, and building on waterways which called for urgent attention to reduce the risk of flooding.
They also appealed to the Municipal assembly to always check the building sites before giving out permits to developers and individuals to prevent building structures on waterways to avert any unforeseen flooding disasters.
The GNA gathered that in the previous years, areas such as schools, churches, Mosque, markets, houses and others were submerged in the flood and which demanded urgent attention to prevent any further occurrences in the subsequent raining seasons.
Source: GNA
