Accra-Ghana, Oct 16, GNA – Mr George Kwadwo Ayisi, the Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), has advised people in districts within the buffer zone of the Akosombo and Kpong dams, who have not been affected by the spillage of the dams to move to higher ground.
Mr Ayisi, in a phone interview with the Ghana News Agency, said due the rising water levels, it was important for them to make alternative arrangements and to move up stream.
“I advise all persons living in safe districts to move to a higher ground. Don’t think that because you live in a district that has not been affected, therefore, you are safe,” he stressed.
He said the Organisation was collaborating with the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to support some14,000 people from the nine districts with relief items and boats to facilitate evacuations.
“We have collaborated with the VRA and set up emergency operation centres to coordinate our activities to help and evacuate victims. The Military are with us. They have provided boats with which we are helping more to get to safety. The VRA so far has released 10 million Cedis out of which victims have received assistance. They have promised more financial assistance,” he said.
On September 15, 2023, VRA began a controlled spill from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams due to the rise in water levels from the Volta River buffer zone.
So far, nine districts have been affected by the spillage. With the hardest hit being the South, Central, and North Tongu districts of the Volta Region.
Cemeteries, places of convenience, farms, homes and businesses have been submerged.
