Rainstorm hits Wa, rips off roofs of school buildings

Wa, May 09, GNA - Luck was on the side of 13 National Service Personnel whose transit quarters was hit by a kapok tree during a rainstorm that hit the Wa Municipality on Friday night.

The tree was uprooted by the storm and some of its branches fell on the roof of one of the quarters at a time four of the personnel were watching a movie in the room. The quarters, which are situated on the compound of the Wa Model Primary School, caved in on the personnel injuring Mr. Blege who is on admission at the Wa Regional Hospital. Mr. Affram Asare, one of the students, said Mr. Blege sustained slight cuts on his neck and feet and there was no cause for alarm.

Two classroom blocks of the Wa Model Primary School had parts of their roofs ripped off. The Wa Senior High/Technical School also suffered the disaster when 21 pieces of roofing sheets were blown off from an ongoing dormitory block project.

At the Wa Technical Institute a six-unit classroom block that formed part of the government's Emergency Classrooms Project for the Institute, had its entire roof ripped off.

Mr. Mohammed I. Gariba, Headmaster of the Institute, said the project was implemented by Yurams Construction Firm who is yet to hand over the facility to the school.

He said because the project was not handed over to the authorities, students were still having classes in their dinning hall.

Mr. Gariba said high tension electricity poles were also destroyed and leaving electricity wires lying in the open while classrooms and dormitories were without lights.

"With this calamity on our hands, we cannot find place for first year students. High tension poles are broken, wires are lying on the ground.Students will be writing their English paper on Monday but there are no lights in the classrooms and dormitories", Mr. Gariba said.

He appealed to Wa Municipal Assembly, National Disaster Management Organisation and non-governmental organisations to come to the aid of the school.

Alhaji Issahaque Salia, Upper West Regional Minister who went round the schools, expressed disappointment that the school facilities were destroyed in the storm.

He said it was a blow to the government as it had to source funds to complete the facilities on time in order not to disrupt the academic calendar.

Mr. Yakubu Duogoh, Wa Municipal Chief Executive who accompanied Alhaji Salia, later visited the Nyagli Community where its Junior High School had its entire roof ripped off while part of the primary school was also destroyed.

Some private buildings were also damaged.