Two persons have sustained injuries while over 70 others have been displaced after a heavy downpour swept through Janga in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region.
The severe rainstorm, which started at around 6:00pm on Sunday, destroyed over 50 houses, a school building- Nurul E/A Primary, occupied by students of the Janga SHS and several electricity poles, thereby leaving many houses without electricity.
The injured are currently being treated at the Janga Polyclinic while the displaced persons are living with friends and relatives.
One of the affected persons, Alidu Seidu Abu, who had his building of about six rooms destroyed, narrated the incident to Joy News’ Regional Correspondent, Eliasu Tanko:
“It was very small until getting to 6:45pm. So I was standing here [his compound] when my wife came with the children saying that the air lifted up the roofing sheet. So they run and came to their grandmother’s room. At that moment before I could realise the air has blown all the roofing sheets into the yard,” he said.
Another victim, 45-year old Hudu who had his seven-bedroom house destroyed by the storms said the incident has left his family with nothing and pleaded for support.
“When the wind started blowing, it took all the roofing sheets including everything. We don’t have anything, even a place to sleep. My mother, my children and everybody we slept outside. Since yesterday I have been putting on the same dress. I am pleading with the government and NGOs to help us,” he told Joy News.
A resident, E.B. Adam, narrated how he narrowly escaped from a collapsing building.
“We heard a loud sound of the storm so we quickly run out. As soon as we left the whole building came down destroying almost everything in the structure. Two people got injured, one has been admitted and the other had a cut on his head.”
The Headmaster of the affected school, Saaka Iddisah also appealed to government for the school to be renovated immediately.
“You can see some of the students are using it as classrooms, so if measures are not taken, then the school children would have to be sitting under the trees and it is almost raining season, so it means that if it is not rehabilitated now, anytime there is rain the children would have to go home,” he said.
Officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) have visited the scene to assess the situation.
But the Assemblyman for the area, Ben Yakubu Issah appealed to NADMO for more measures to be taken not just an assessment of the situation.
“Sometimes they do this and nothing happens and the people will turn to insult us the assembly members or the opinion leaders, that we have taken something from NADMO and we are not giving them and that is not the case. So we are appealing to NADMO not to disappoint us this time and do something for the people,” he said.