NADMO supports flood victims in VR with relief items

The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has presented relief items to people in five districts in the Volta Region who were displaced by floods last week.

The items included 100 cartons of washing soap, 600 pieces of blankets, 400 pieces of mosquito nets, 300 plastic buckets, 200 family relief packs, 400 bags of rice and 500 bags of maize.

The affected districts  are  Agotime-Ziope, Central Tongu, Akatsi- South,  Adaklu and South Tongu. Communities in those districts had been displaced following the overflow of the Tordze River due to a heavy downpour.

A total of  2,510 acres of farmland were submerged, 672 houses inundated, 14 bridges collapsed and 21 roads destroyed by the floods.

A tour of the affected areas by the National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Kofi Portuphy, and the Volta Regional Minister, Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso, in the South and Central Tongu districts revealed that some schools and health centres were also flooded while the sources of drinking water were contaminated.

The delegation also included the Member of Parliament for South Tongu, Mr Kobby Woyome, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Central Tongu District, Mrs Theodora Agbenyenu, and the DCE of South Tongu, Mr Samuel Eworyi.

Downpour

On September 27, 2014, there was a downpour that led to the overflow of River Tordze, submerging some communities located near the river.

In Kpoviadzi, one of the most affected communities, 25 houses were completely submerged, displacing about 209 people, including  83 children.

Others were Klokope, Gafatsikope, Kpogede and Tordzinu. Crops destroyed included cassava, maize, pepper and groundnut. 

Mrs  Agbenyenu lauded the response of the NADMO team and the regional minister to the plight of the flood victims.

She said due to the flood, some reptiles now dwelt in the communities, describing the situation as dangerous.

She, therefore, appealed to the regional minister to direct the electricity company in the district to not cut power supply to the affected communities during the load shedding exercise so that they could have some light during the night.

Water supply

For his part,  Mr Portuphy said as an immediate measure, water tankers would supply potable water to the flood victims.

He also advised them against  building in waterways, adding that the relief items should be equally distributed to the affected victims.

Ms Ntoso cautioned the affected victims to be cautious of their health, adding that within the past few days 40 cholera cases had been recorded in Ho.

She said water purifiers would be distributed  to enable the victims purify to their water before drinking.