MORE DISPLACED BY NORTHERN FLOODS (BACK PAGE, SEPT 17, 2010)

ABOUT 10,000 people have been displaced following the destruction of over 800 houses by floods in parts of the Northern Region.
This is as a result of days of torrential rains and the intensified spillage of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso, which have led to the overflow of the Volta rivers and their tributaries.
So far, only four people have been confirmed dead, while other reported deaths in the East Mamprusi District are still being investigated.
The Northern Regional Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Alhaji Abdulai Mahama Silimboma, disclosed this in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Tamale.
He said the floods had also affected food production due to the destruction of many acres of farmlands.
The co-ordinator noted that the worst hit communities were in the West Mamprusi and West Gonja districts.
He said in the West Mamprusi District alone, 681 houses in 26 communities had collapsed and over 3000 acres of farmlands destroyed.
“In the West Gonja District, 200 houses in 65 communities have collapsed and 6000 acres of farmlands submerged,” he stated.
Alhaji Silimboma noted that the Central Gonja and Kpandai districts had also been affected.
The co-ordinator said the national secretariat had earlier supplied some relief items to the regional office, which have been distributed to the affected districts.
“We are expecting more relief items to enable us to meet the demand,” he noted.
Confirming the damage caused to communities in his district, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Central Gonja, Mr Salifu Issifu Be-Awuribe, mentioned that over 3000 people had been displaced in nine communities.
The communities include Chepe, Yapei, Jakpapei, Katanga, Bonyang and Afiso.
He said 80 houses had been destroyed and about 1500 acres of farmlands submerged.