Floodwaters from the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams have started receding in the Lower Volta Basin.

Mepe, where the floodwaters were the highest, has seen much of the water recede as of yesterday.

As of last Friday, the water level in the Akosombo reservoir was at 277.08 feet or 84.453 metres, with the Volta River Authority (VRA), managers of the Akosombo and Kpong hydroelectric dams, recording less inflows compared to previous periods that occasioned the spillage of both dams to safeguard their integrity.

Subsequently, the VRA has started carrying out widespread fumigation of communities affected by the spillage downstream, especially where a significant reduction in flood levels has been recorded.

The exercise, being carried out by waste management company, Zoomlion, started at Mepe in the North Tongu District yesterday and will cover communities in affected districts that were heavily affected by the spillage.

A combination of trucks, motorised sprayers and other spraying equipment and devices were used by a team of uniformed Zoomlion sprayers. 

The exercise is to forestall any health epidemic in the communities which suffered the flooding effects of spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong dams. 

The VRA explained that it had observed lower levels of water in the Akosombo reservoir which signalled a reduction in the spillage which should consequently lead to the floodwaters receding.

Affected homes, safe havens, public and open spaces in the community in general are being fumigated and disinfected.

Safety needs

Briefing the media at the North Tongu District Assembly at Battor yesterday prior to the exercise, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for North Tongu, Divine Orsbond Kwadjo Fenu, said the fumigation exercise had become necessary as some of the affected people were anxious to move to their homes, hence the need to ensure their safety when they were allowed to move in.

The DCE said an assessment by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the assembly officials showed that there was the need to ensure their safety when they moved into their homes.    

“The assembly and its officials have been in the affected communities always and have been assessing the situation on hand. The water level in some parts of the affected communities has reduced which is prompting some of them to go back to their own homes. In effect, this is why we have appealed to the VRA, our main sponsors, for the fumigation exercise,” Mr Fenu added.  

He said a team was also in place to assess the structural integrity of affected buildings and other structures.

The DCE lauded the VRA for the prompt response to the call by the assembly for the exercise and expressed the hope that some of the affected members would soon return to their homes and continue with their normal life.

The Emergency Preparedness Plan Officer of VRA, Kwame Osei Mensah Darkwah, who led the team to begin the exercise, gave an assurance that very soon, the challenges would be over and all affected people would return to their normal life. 

Nonetheless, he called on everybody to be part of the restoration process. 

On the part of VRA, Mr Darkwah said, the authority was doing all it could for the people to move back to their normal lives.

Daily Graphic checks also indicate that VRA has reduced the spillage significantly, as the inflow into the reservoir has also reduced.

Survey

The Vector Control Officer of ZoomLion Company, King Jonas Wonder, said the exercise would continue until all the affected communities were covered.

He said per the survey of the area by his team, the water was receding and, therefore, there was no need to panic as the situation was now better than the past weeks.

Some of the affected people, namely Julie Gidi, Rita Afadzi Adagbe and Gifty Nanevi, who spoke to the Daily Graphic at one of the safe havens, expressed a strong desire to move to their own homes no matter the conditions. 

One of the victims at Mepe Degorme, Robert Kwesi Masuvi, who shared the experience of snakes invading his home in the wake of the floods, said the fumigation exercise would drive the snakes away and give them peace of mind.

Own observations

The team from the Daily Graphic observed that the floods have significantly receded in some of the communities compared to October 11, this year when the team visited the communities at the height of the disaster.

The team noticed that places which needed boats to cross were now without the deluge. 

The Daily Graphic also noticed a few homes which remained fairly flooded but whose occupants had moved in. 

Some mud houses have been destroyed, while some brick and mortar buildings were developing cracks. 

With the VRA spilling significantly less water, the water levels are expected to completely recede in a matter of days and enable most of the affected people to return to their own homes to 
continue with their normal life.

Source: GraphicOnline