Burkina Faso to open Bagre dam

Accra, Aug 8, GNA - The Ghana Embassy in Burkina Faso has informed the Volta River Authority (VRA) that given the rate of the rise of water in the Bagre Dam, operators of the facility would open its flood gates by August 21, 2008 if the current trend continued. A statement signed by Acting National Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), deputy Commissioner of Police, Akrofi Aseidu (rtd), and released to GNA, said the spilling of the water was likely to cause flooding in some communities in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

It said in the meantime, as part of its contingency towards the expected disaster, NADMO and its stakeholders were undertaking public education and risk assessment in the flood-prone areas in the three regions that were likely to be affected by the floods. The statement said "the NADMO wishes to inform the general public, especially communities living within the catchment areas of the White Volta and its tributaries of the necessary precautionary measures to protect life and property in the event of any serious floods caused by the spillage."

It also asked the public to also to listen and strictly adhere to advice by experts.