flood victims lose vuable properties

Accra, Oct 27, GNA -The flood situation in the Accra Metropolis caused by the heavy rains on Tuesday night has affected residents most of whom have lost valuable property including food stuffs.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited some of the the devastated areas and observed that the floods were caused mainly by gutters choked with filth and also the practice whereby some residents put up buildings in waterways.

Residents at the Police Rent Quarters at Odawna complained that the construction underway at the Graphic Road in Accra was the cause of the flood since the water could not flow into the lagoon.

Mr Iddrisu Mandeyya, a Site Engineer at the Graphic Road however described the situation as unpleasant since most of the expensive machines, wooden structures and construction materials were damaged by the floods, adding that 93 it would take two weeks to put the situation under control".

Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development consoled the residents and said it was unfortunate that a lot of valuable property was destroyed due to floods.

He said the major cause was the silted drains and human activities such as dumping of refuse in the drainage system, and noted that it was important for people to stop blaming government for their predicament and team up to fight against the causes of the disasters.

He indicated that the Government was putting measures in place to build a better drainage system to curb any further flood situation in future.

At Dansoman Keepfit down and Sakaman, some residents were standing outside their houses and helplessly watching their belongings carried away by floods while others were scooping the water from bedrooms, kitchens and toilets.

NADMO officials at the scene were also rescuing and assisting the residents to pump water from various homes and gave the assurance that some relief items would be made available to the flood victims.

The officials thanked the 48 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces for the support in providing four life boats and military personnel for rescue operations.