Communities urged to keep their water ways free

The Okere District Director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) Mr Emmanuel Kissiedu Yirenkye has advised community leaders in the district to organize clean-up campaigns to keep all waterways in the district free to help prevent flooding.

Mr Kissiedu gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the aftermath of recent heavy rains which caused flooding in many parts of the country.

He, however, noted the Okere District did not record any flood and disaster during the rains.

The NADMO Director urged communities in the district to join the campaign towards ending of open defecation in the district by Plan Ghana and advised communities in Okere especially the rural areas to form groups to construct household toilets and help families to own their private toilets in their homes to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases during the raining season.

He said the district has also identified safe havens in all communities in the district where people could be moved to in case of disasters.

He explained that the safe havens identified include churches, mosques, palaces, schools and private homes with big compounds that could house many people.

Mr Kissiedu said owners of such structures and institutions had been spoken to and have agreed to host disaster victims.