Model for flood forecasting to be developed in Ghana

Tamale, June 19, GNA - The Volta River Authority (VRA) in collaboratio= n with stakeholders is to develop a flood hazard forecasting model that would make it possible for floods to be forecasted accurately between three to five days.

The donor funded model would be executed with Water Resources Commission (WRC), Ghana Meteorological Service, Environmental Protection Agency and other related agencies. The project, which starts in July would take eight months to complete and would initially cover the White Volta.

It would enable flood related agencies to warn people staying around flood prone areas to move to safety, respond quickly to emergencies and als= o assist flood victims with relief items as early as possible. Mr Ben Ampomah, Acting Executive Secretary of the WRC disclosed this a= t a two-day workshop on integrated water resources management for environmental journalists drawn from Ghana and Burkina Faso in Tamale. The Workshop which is a follow up to the one held in Bolgatanga, in th= e Upper East Region in 2009 seeks to improve upon the knowledge of the journalists on the institutional and legal framework for water resource management and enable them report accurately on environmental issues to the people devoid of technical jargons. It would also broaden the co-operation of Ghana and Burkina-Faso for o= n the management of water resources between the two countries. In a related development, Mr Charles Kofi Addo, Manager System Plannin= g of the VRA announced that the Authority was seeking international funding for the development of four dam sites at Pwalugu, Daboya, Kulpawn all on th= e White Volta and Juale on the Oti River. He said of the four dam sites, the one at Pwalugu was prominent becaus= e of its potential in assisting in flood control, irrigation and navigation and the provision of hydro-power.