Flood: The biggest news is that no life has been lost – Nana Akomea
“We are on phase II [of the spillage] right now and it is a cycle. It is normal at this time of the year for us to experience inflows. The difference is that we are getting more than expected and to safeguard this dam means that we have to spill water, that is the standard operation for any hydro dam but the inflows that we are seeing now are in excess.
The Managing Director of the State Transport Company (STC), Nana Akomea, has said that the work that has been done previously by the Volta River Authority (VRA), National Disaster Management Authority (NADMO), the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the Navy, has ensured that no life has been lost in the flood disaster occasioned by the Akosombo dam spillage.
He said efforts to provide relief to the people in the affected areas should be intensified.
Speaking on the Big Issue on TV3 Wednesday October 18 he said “The biggest news is that there has been no reported loss of lives, and that goes to the work that previously has been done by NADMO, Ghana Armed Forces, the Navy, VRA, and so on.
“It shows a lot of work previously has been done to ensure that there has been no loss of life in the face of the magnitude of the situation.”
He added “The efforts that have been made so far have to be intensified…more and more shelter, food, medicine we have to intensify the.
“There has to be a big national effort on anything that can provide us with resources to provide relief to the people, there has to be that effort nationally and hopefully internationally.”
Communities including Mepe and Battor in the North Tongu Constituency have been severely hit by the flood.
Spillage of water from the Akosombo dam is expected to continue until the excess inflows in the lake recede, according to the Volta River Authority (VRA).
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the VRA, Mr Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa said that the lake is currently experiencing inflows more than expected hence the spillage is going to continue.
“We are on phase II [of the spillage] right now and it is a cycle. It is normal at this time of the year for us to experience inflows. The difference is that we are getting more than expected and to safeguard this dam means that we have to spill water, that is the standard operation for any hydro dam but the inflows that we are seeing now are in excess.
“Definitely, as the cycle goes through this will recede so we are hoping it will recede in the next time,” he told journalists on Thursday, October 12.
“The spilling may continue even though we are anticipating that the levels may drop down to phase 1, which was started on September 15 but of course, we did not have much excess as we are seeing now, this is an emergency as we have seen from the beginning.
“Whether dredging or no dredging it is an emergency. The volume of water that is coming into the lake right now which we have to throw out, it means that we need to evacuate people from wherever they are to ensure they are safe until the inflows recede,” he added.
The VRA was accused of neglecting its responsibilities in the Lower Volta Basin hence the huge impact of flood caused by spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams on communities.
Source: 3News.com
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