Farmers along foothills of mountains advised to leave their farms

Koforidua, Sept. 23, GNA - The Eastern Regional Director of the Geological Survey Department (GSD), Mr Solomon Anum, has cautioned farmers, particularly those operating along the foothills of mountains, against visiting their farms during heavy downpours owing to the probable occurrence of landslides. He said farmers along the base of the Huhunya Mountain range in the Krobo area, for instance, stand a greater risk of being buried by landslides during heavy rains owing to changing nature of the rock configuration in that part of the region. Speaking to the GNA at Koforidua on Monday, Mr Anum said the region was becoming susceptible to landslides due to an active fault beneath some of the mountains. Mr Anum said scientific findings shows that the Eastern Region is showing greater proclivity to landslides than other natural disasters, citing recent slither of the earth at Nkurakan, New Tafo, Aburi, Jumapo and Nsawam. He said if scientific farming practices were not adopted by the farmers along the slopes, then the region would become even more prone to slides as exposed rocks become porous and can thus trigger slides when soaked after heavy rains. Mr Anum pleaded with the farmers not to take anything for granted but to strictly adhere to wise counselling such as leaving the farms promptly when heavy rains sets in. He also called for effective land planning in the region to take care of emergency response preparedness to enable a quick response to the affected if any natural disaster should occur. This, he said, requires churches, educational institutions and other facilities where large groups of persons congregate to team up with statutory bodies to educate their members as to what they should do when the region experiences any seismic activity. He said there is need for religious organizations to seek expert opinion before putting up church buildings so that a site investigation could be conducted and prescribe the type of materials that could be used to check ground movements and prevent possible disintegration of the building in the event of violent earth movements. Mr Anum further advised residents putting heavy structures along the edges of mountains to seek expert advice since they would bear the brunt of destruction in the event of a seismic action.

Koforidua, Sept. 23, GNA - The Eastern Regional Director of the Geological Survey Department (GSD), Mr Solomon Anum, has cautioned farmers, particularly those operating along the foothills of mountains, against visiting their farms during heavy downpours owing to the probable occurrence of landslides. He said farmers along the base of the Huhunya Mountain range in the Krobo area, for instance, stand a greater risk of being buried by landslides during heavy rains owing to changing nature of the rock configuration in that part of the region. Speaking to the GNA at Koforidua on Monday, Mr Anum said the region was becoming susceptible to landslides due to an active fault beneath some of the mountains. Mr Anum said scientific findings shows that the Eastern Region is showing greater proclivity to landslides than other natural disasters, citing recent slither of the earth at Nkurakan, New Tafo, Aburi, Jumapo and Nsawam. He said if scientific farming practices were not adopted by the farmers along the slopes, then the region would become even more prone to slides as exposed rocks become porous and can thus trigger slides when soaked after heavy rains. Mr Anum pleaded with the farmers not to take anything for granted but to strictly adhere to wise counselling such as leaving the farms promptly when heavy rains sets in. He also called for effective land planning in the region to take care of emergency response preparedness to enable a quick response to the affected if any natural disaster should occur. This, he said, requires churches, educational institutions and other facilities where large groups of persons congregate to team up with statutory bodies to educate their members as to what they should do when the region experiences any seismic activity. He said there is need for religious organizations to seek expert opinion before putting up church buildings so that a site investigation could be conducted and prescribe the type of materials that could be used to check ground movements and prevent possible disintegration of the building in the event of violent earth movements. Mr Anum further advised residents putting heavy structures along the edges of mountains to seek expert advice since they would bear the brunt of destruction in the event of a seismic action.