Last Saturday’s downpour which caused havoc at Ho-Bankoe and other parts of Ho, measured 189.2 millimetres, the heaviest recorded rainfall in the regional capital in 30 years.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made this known in Ho, yesterday.

The EPA also measures the volume of rainfall when investigating environmental disasters.

The Volta Regional Director of EPA, Hope Smith Lomotey, said the second largest rainfall during the decade, 132.5 millimetres, was recorded in 2003.

Another phenomenal downpour in Ho during the period measured 152.2 millimetres in 2006.

The Ho District Meteorological Officer, Emmanuel Dinsah, corroborated the rainfall measurements given by the EPA.

“The floods on Saturday were due to large volumes of water which could not flow away swiftly to lower grounds because the drains were all choked, likewise the other waterways,” Mr Lomotey said.

He said, in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Ho, that some of the drains were also too narrow to contain the water.

Relocation

Meanwhile, Mr Lomotey said the people living in low-lying areas along water courses must relocate to higher grounds as soon as possible, “because the rains will continue to fall in the days ahead.”

He insisted that structures erected in the waterways must also be removed without delay.

Mr Lomotey explained that the final destination of flowing water was the sea and once its course was blocked the result was often disastrous.

According to him, the improper disposal of rubbish by many Ho residents also contributed to the blockage in the gutters which resulted  in the unusual heavy floods.

“We must all respect the environment to avoid a repetition of this kind of horror in future,” Mr Lomotey added.

In a related development, the NDC Member of Parliament for Ho Central, Benjamin Kpodo, has called on the Ho Municipal Assembly to  live up to its responsibilities and enforce its environmental by-laws.

Speaking to journalists after the six-hour flood scenes at Ho-Bankoe, Ho-Donokodzi, Ho Barracks-New Town, Ho-Adzimakope, and Ho-Powerhouse, Mr Kpodo said the disaster occurred because the assembly was negligent in the enforcement of its by-laws and building regulations.

The floods have receded, leaving a total 1,052 people displaced in the affected areas.

According to a source close to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the homeless include 256 men, 280 women, 273 boys and 243 girls.

For now, NADMO is still assessing the damage caused by the floods.

SOURCE: GraphicOnline