Eastern Regional Disaster Management Committee to craft contingency plan

Koforidua, Aug 19, GNA - The Eastern Regional Disaster Management Committee (ERDMT) is to craft a contingency plan that will enable the region to respond swiftly to emergencies such as landslides and earth tremors. In that regard the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, who is also chairman of the committee, has directed the formation of a technical committee to craft the plan, taking into consideration available seismic and tectonic information on the region.

Addressing members of the committee on Tuesday Mr Affram Asiedu said the increasing incidence of minor tremors in parts of the Greater Accra Region in recent times were warning signs to other earthquake prone areas like the Eastern Region. Parts of the Eastern Region, particularly the Akuapem Ridge, rests on an active earthquake fault, and experts believe that can trigger soil liquefaction, floods, water pollution and debris flow in the event of a major tremor. The region has also experienced mudslides in some parts of the Krobo area within the past two years, a situation, which has necessitated the meeting and the call for a contingency plan to minimize the human suffering in the event of any such disaster.

Mr Affram Asiedu said as a disaster management team, the body must co-ordinate the assumed preparedness of each department so that emergency response could be swift when the region is confronted with such a scenario. He said in addition to harnessing the potentials of each department for the common good of the region, there was also the need for the committee to pursue a simulation or mock-plan to educate communities on how to respond to natural calamities.

Speaking on the region's situation with regard to the likely occurrence of an earth quake, the Regional Director of the Geological Survey Department, Mr Solomon Anum, said there was a fault or a crack in the ground in some parts of the region, which in the event of a violent movement, might result in a quake. He said though recording showed minimal activity, the possibility of a quake exists, hence the need for a rapid response plan to prepare the region when the unfortunate occurs. Mr Anum recommends the construction of earthquake resistant structures on the Akuapem Ridge to contain the effects of tectonic movements in the earth and limit possible human loss.

A Principal Engineer with the Volta River Authority (VRA), Mr Francis Agbenyo, said because the Akosombo Dam was designed using a rock-filled technology, it was highly unlikely that it could burst in the event of a tremor. He, nonetheless, stressed the need for communities, which have been experiencing frequent flooding in the region to be identified and swiftly evacuated when the floods occur since re-location in certain circumstances can be a costly venture.