East Gonja prepare to reduce flood impacts

Tamale, March 28, GNA - The East Gonja District Assembly and the District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) is preparing to help reduce the impact of floods in the area which is expected due to the onset of the rainy season.

Mr Alhassan Mumuni, District Chief Executive of East Gonja, told the Ghana News Agency on Monday that the DDMC had commenced an education campaign to inform the people close to the Volta Lake to move away.

He said the move was also in regard of the National Level Datum of the Volta River Authority (VRA). This Datum is a legislation that prohibits people from settling in and around the perimeter of 280 feet of any of the Authority's reservoirs.

Mr Mumuni said last year's floods in the area claimed lives and property, 93We in the district are doing all we can to prevent this from repeating itself".

"One of the negative effects of climate change is torrential and unpredicted rains, the Bagri Dam overflow has also been taken into consideration so we are taking proactive measures to protect life and property," he said.

Mr Mumuni said the flood affected about 20 communities and displaced over 15,000 people. Schools, health facilities, bridges, roads, animals and farmlands were also destroyed. He said the education, which would be very rigorous, would include a door to door campaign and beating of gong-gong. Mr Mumuni said part of the Assembly's long term plans for the flood victims involved the government's Livelihood Enhancement Project as seen in the National Youth in Agriculture Program and government Block Farm Project.

"We are doing all these because the flood has brought hunger and poverty to the affected communities rendering most of them homeless, while bringing economic activities to a halt", he said.