NORTHERN, UPPER EAST MAY FACE FLOODS (BACK PAGE, AUGUST 21, 2010)

THE Northern and Upper East regions face imminent floods, following the opening of the Bagre Dam by the authorities in Burkina Faso at 10:00 a.m. yesterday.
The opening of the dam follows heavy rains in Burkina Faso, which has led to the dam reaching its maximum capacity.
Already, the water volume in the Volta Basin has increased significantly due to heavy rains in Ghana and is, therefore, expected to overflow its banks when water from the Bagre Dam reaches Ghana by late Sunday.
The Northern Regional Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Alhaji Abdulai Mahama Silimboma, who disclosed this said; “We expect that the floods will reach Ghana from Sunday onwards.”
Alhaji Silimboma noted that as part of the pre-flood activities, residents of communities located along the Volta River and its tributaries have been put on high alert.
“We have told them to move to higher grounds when they begin to see the water volumes increasing and the colour of the water changing,” he pointed out.
He also indicated that farmers whose farmlands were located close to the river banks had been asked not to visit their farms when the floods begin.
Alhaji Silimboma further pointed out that the expected damage from the floods could be minimal if the authorities undertook a controlled spillage.
“If the dam is opened gradually and in a controlled manner, the Black Volta can be less affected,” he added.
Meanwhile, the national leadership of NADMO says it has developed contingency plans to contain the after effects of the expected spillage, reports Seth J. Bokpe.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the NADMO, Major (retd) Nicholas Mensah, said an agreement has been reached with the Burkinabe authorities to control the spillage from their end so that “we can also control the flooding that come with it in the three northern regions.”
He said the Ghana Ambassador to Burkina Faso and some Volta River Authority (VRA) staff were working with their Burkinabe counterparts to ensure that the agreement was implemented to the letter.
A similar exercise in 2007 led to heavy flooding that caused an extensive damage in some parts of the three northern regions.
Major Mensah said the organisation had also put in place monitoring systems in all the catchment areas to monitor the levels of the run-off water and advised the residents on the appropriate action to be taken.
He said to ensure rapid response to distress calls for rescue or search for victims, if there would be any, the Rapid Response team of the NADMO and the 48 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces had been moved to the Upper East Region.
He said the organisation had also undertaken an extensive public education and sensitisation exercises in the three northern regions to ensure that the inhabitants do not become victims of the floods that come with the spillage.