Rains in Takoradi uproots trees

Takoradi, June 25, GNA - An eight-hour heavy down pour which started around midnight in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, caused a slight landslide along the Sekondi-Takoradi main road uprooting some big trees. It uprooted the big trees on the hill near the Paa Grant Roundabout in Takoradi, which blocked the road, compelling drivers to divert their course thus prolonging the journey.

It took a combined team of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Ghana Road Safety Commission, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, and the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) personnel, about six hours to clear the road for vehicular movement. Mr Thomas Bismark Boakye, outgoing Western Regional Coordinator of the Ghana Road Safety Commission who spoke to the GNA at the scene, said he received a distress call around 2am about the disaster and rushed to the scene.

He said all the related organizations were informed and together they started cutting the trees into pieces to clear the road for use. Sensing danger that all other nearby trees along the area could suffer similar fate, Mr Boakye said they have decided to prune them before any disaster occurred.

Last week the metropolis experienced a similar heavy down pour which led to the destruction of residents' back yard garden as well as the collapsed of walls and some of the residents called on the authorities concerned to deem it necessary to prune all over grown trees. The residents noted that though the trees provide shade and serve as wind breaks, they pose as threats to lives and properties, as articulated trucks that ply the roads often pull part of the branches along.