Dam spillage: Every affected home will get relief – NADMO assures

The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has given assurance that every home affected by the Akosombo Dam spillage will receive support to aid their recovery from the disaster.

Mr Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, the Director-General of NADMO, gave the assurance during an inspection of some relief items donated at Battor Dugame in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region, on Friday, intended to be distributed to the affected persons.

The items included toiletries, bags of rice and sugar, medications, plastic buckets, bowls, mattresses, canned foods, and bottled water.

Nana Agyemang-Prempeh expressed the Organization’s unwavering commitment to coordinating response activities to manage the situation.

Natural disasters, he said, did not happen to people based on their tribe, political or religious affiliations and, therefore, called for unity and support for the victims.

“NADMO will continue to carry out its mandate of coordinating all response efforts to manage disasters because when it strikes it doesn’t know tribe, political affiliation, or religion, so let’s unite and support our brothers and sisters who have been affected by this flooding as a result of the harsh realities of climate change,” he said.

There were some traditional rulers and government officials present to witness the inspection, including Madam Fatimatu Abubakar, Deputy Minister of Information, and Seji Saji, the Deputy Director of NADMO.

Madam Abubakar said the Government was deeply concerned about the safety of the affected persons and had taken urgent measures to safeguard their lives.

To that end, she said, the government had established an Inter-Ministerial Committee to oversee the proper coordination and timely response to the needs of the victims.

The controlled spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams has led to significant challenges, including power cuts, infrastructure damage, and risks to residents’ lives.

It has also cut off some communities as roads have been destroyed, leaving commuters stranded, while others have resorted to the use of boats and canoes thus, further endangering their lives.

Some of the hard-hit districts included Asuogyaman in the Eastern Region where the Akosombo Dam is located, as well as North, Central and South Tongu district of the Volta region, and Ada East and West in the Greater Accra Region.

The spillage was necessitated by high inflows into the Akosombo reservoir, resulting in increased volumes of water thus exceeding its upper level.