Mrs Paulina Ekua Amponsah, Head of the Seismic Section of the Geological Survey Department, on Thursday appealed to estate developers to consult experts before putting up their structures.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, Mrs Amponsah said when experts like civil and structural engineers, seismologists, planners and geologists are contacted it would prevent developments in earthquake-prone zones.
She said Ghana has experienced earthquakes and tremors and the department could not predict the day for such natural phenomenon like earthquakes and tremors. Listing the earthquakes and major tremors, Mrs Amponsah said in 1636, Ghana recorded the first earthquake at Axim, which killed a considerable number of miners then at work.
An earthquake also rocked Accra in 1862, which rendered the Christianborg Castle, now the Osu Castle, inhabitable. Mrs. Amponsah said Ho experienced a tremor in 1906 and Accra recorded its biggest earthquake in 1939, which measured 6.5 on the Richter Scale. The quake, which started from the sea, killed 17 people, injured 133 and destroyed property worth millions of pounds.
There have been many tremors in Accra with the latest being a series in January, February and March 1997. She explained that given the trend, it is likely that Ghana could experience an earthquake at any given time but called on Ghanaians to be calm in such situations.
Dr. E. K Brantuoh, Acting Director of the Geological Survey Department, assured the public that the department has machines, which monitor the quakes and tremors. He urged architects to design more than one exit to their buildings to avoid stampede during such disasters.
Dr. Brantuoh said the department would embark on more educational programs to inform the public about what should be done before, during and after earthquakes.
