Floods cut portion of Bolgatanga-Bawku road, halt movement

Correspondence from Upper East Region:

There is major damage to a portion of the Bolgatanga-Bawku road, totally halting all forms of movement on the highway.

The destruction of parts of the road at Kobore in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region was caused as a result of torrential rains and water recently spilled from the Bagre dam in Burkina Faso.

The road has now been divided into two, cutting off the Bawku area from the rest of the region.

A visit by GhanaWeb's Correspondent Senyalah Castro to the area showed how several vehicles loaded with goods were parked on both sides of the road due to the truncation in the road.

It was revealed that for five days now, travelers have not been able to access Bawku and its environs from Bolgatanga and vice versa.

Several farmlands and livestock in the Kobore and adjoining communities have also been destroyed by the floods.

According to statistics from the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), four lives have been lost to the floods.

Frank Feseini Adongo, Member of Parliament for Zebilla, speaking to GhanaWeb, said Zebilla-Teshie, Sungo, Ampoliga, Agatusi are the worse affected communities with several damaged roads and culverts.

Mr. Adongo lamented the havoc of the floods, stating the recurrence has become a great headache to the area.

Mr. Adongo further said levels of the floods are the highest ever recorded in the area.

He however said the government was working to permanently find solutions to the annual floods.

"Looking at the floods we are witnessing now, I think normally it does not go beyond 100 metres from the main river. But this time it has covered almost about one mile. Extensively crops have been submerged. Rice, maize, soya beans, etc."

Meanwhile, Vice President Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia is set to visit the affected road and communities to ascertain the extent of the damage. The visit is part of his two-day tour of the region.