Committee set up to investigate 'killer' flood in New Juaben

The New Juaben Municipal Assembly in the Eastern region has set up a seven-member committee to investigate the cause of flooding in the municipality, the MCE of the area, Kwabena Okyere Kwesi has announced.

The committee’s work, he said starts on Monday and ends on Friday.

“They need to go round all the flood prone areas and identify all the structures that are impeding free flow of running water when it rains and also they need to identify various issues that contribute to flooding in the committee,” he told the media on Monday.

The flood which occurred Sunday is believed to claim two lives including a 72-year-old taxi driver, Kofi Baffo, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) said.

He died hours after he was rescued from his drowning taxi cab. The vehicle which had four passengers on board, submerged when the driver attempted to drive through the flood at the Kenkey Factory road.

Three of the passengers were rescued by residents, but the flood towed away the driver and a female passenger.

The driver was later rescued in a heap of rubbish in an "unstable state" and was pronounced dead Monday morning.

The woman identified as Celestina Goka, 60, was a trader and left behind three children while the deceased driver left behind eight children.

The Eastern regional Minister, Mavis Ama Frimpong led the regional disaster team to visit the bereaved families on Monday.

Also accompanied was the Eastern regional NADMO Coordinator, Ransford Owusu Boakye and the MCE for New Juaben, Hon. Okyere Kusi.

The Eastern regional Minister who is the head of the disaster management team expressed condolences to the bereaved families and pledged government’s support for their funeral.

She also announced plans by the municipal Assembly to desilt choked gutters and demolish buildings on water ways