NADMO forms rapid team to tackle flood

09/04/08
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
A RAPID response team has been formed by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to undertake emergency operations in line with the severe flooding which is predicted to hit parts of Accra.
This follows the forecast by the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA) that parts of the national capital will soon come under water as a result of heavy rains and poor drainage.
In his prediction, which was published in yesterday’s issue of the Daily Graphic, Mr Amos Narh, a senior meteorologist of the GMA, mentioned Avenor, Alajo, Sowutuom, Oblogo, Anyaa, Santa Maria, Mandela and Weija as some of the areas to be worst hit and called for serious preparations.
In response, the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Ben Brown, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that a team had been assembled from the Navy, the Air Force, the Police Service, the Fire Service, the Red Cross, Civil Aviation, the Ghana Health Service and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to provide rescue and other services wherever flooding might occur.
He said NADMO’s own study corroborated the GMA’s prediction that heavy rains, accompanied by strong winds, thunder and lightning, were expected in the southern parts of the country, including Accra.
Mr Brown said the Navy would rescue people stuck in floods, while the Air Force and Fire Service officers would rescue those to be caught in distressed situations.
He said the Ghana Red Cross Society and the police would provide first aid, while the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) would supply fire tenders and ambulances to convey victims to hospitals. The Ghana Health Service would also provide support services and supervise the treatment of flood victims.
Mr Brown said the aim of that collaboration was to ensure that flood victims did not suffer any fatalities and indicated that NADMO would supervise any rescue missions to ensure co-ordination.
He mentioned the downstream of the Densu River, comprising Oblogo, Tetegu, Mandela and parts of Panbros Block Factory, as well as the Lafa River on the hills of Anyaa and the whole of Sowutuom, Santa Maria and Mallam, as some of the flood-prone areas, in addition to Avenor, Alajo and Weija.
Five people lost their lives at Kwashibu, near Sowutuom, and Mallam when Accra was hit by floods in June last year.
Mr Brown said this year’s floods might be worse than last year’s as many more drains had been choked and people continued to build on water courses and in low-lying areas.
“This year, the floods may be worse because of the climate change, as the rains will be accompanied by strong winds,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said NADMO had impressed on the AMA and district assemblies to supervise the desilting of choked drains in their respective areas, saying that “we are putting the AMA and the district assemblies on their toes to ensure that the drains are cleared of silt as early as possible”.
Mr Brown urged all district assemblies to design their own disaster management plans to complement that of NADMO.
He warned residents to stay indoors whenever they saw the wind blowing and asked those on foot “to look for shelter”.
He advised motorists to step out of their vehicles and park away from electric poles, billboards, masts and trees during heavy downpours.
Mr Brown urged those in flood-prone areas to switch off the main electric switches, put their kids on tables and refrain from opening their doors whenever they were in a flood situation, warning that “if you open the door, you may slip off your feet”.
Those measures, he said, would protect them from getting washed away by the floods or being electrocuted as a result of faulty electric cables.
He again asked people residing in those areas to send their valuable items such as certificates to the police station, relatives or friends for safe keeping.