The National Disaster Management Organization (NaDMO) says it should have implemented a compulsory evacuation plan to move residents from flood-prone areas ahead of the Akosombo Dam spillage.
Thousands of residents in nine districts across the Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra regions have lost their belongings and homes to the flood resulting from the ongoing spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong Dams.
The Volta River Authority (VRA) explained that, it is conducting this spillage due to a “consistent rise in the inflow pattern and water level of the Akosombo Dam.”
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, the Deputy Director General of NADMO, Seji Saji Amedonu said, although residents were informed to evacuate voluntarily ahead of the spillage, more could have been done when they failed to.
According to him, NADMO could have resorted to a compulsory evacuation of residents from the area. However, it failed to do so because it was a difficult task.
“When it gets to a point that some people do not want to move for some reason, then, we do the compulsory evacuation. Yes, we did not do compulsory evacuation. That is a difficult thing to do. Imagine moving this number of people by force. How are you going to get that done? What it means is that we needed to involve all the state security agencies to get that done” Mr. Amedonu said.
Meanwhile, most of the residents who said they lost their properties are currently homeless and appealing to the government to come to their aid.
“Over a thousand houses and properties have been submerged already and lives are being threatened so we are calling on government to come to our aid. This is the time the people of Mepe, especially those in the Volta River basin are waiting for them, they should come to our aid,” a resident pleaded.
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