Speaking at the opening ceremony of a core course program on Humanitarian Assistance in West Africa, the Deputy Director General of NADMO in charge of Technical and Reforms, Seji Saji Amedonu, said his outfit was collaborating with local authorities to enforce building and sanitation laws in order to prevent any form of disasters this year.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oXJPvbUpayI0OiYb5ojSBEigsT72aFVG”]“This year, it is looking like the rains are coming in much earlier than expected, quite a number of the flood we have is as a result of man-made activities, sanitation issue is one,” he said.

He said the educational programmes for this year will cover all the districts, and that every assembly will tackle sanitation issues critically to prevent any disastrous flooding.

Mr. Samuel Atta-Akyea, Minister of Works and Housing, has also revealed that government has put together a road-map to provide permanent infrastructure solution to the perennial flooding in Accra.

He explained that because the capital expenditure for the provision of the drainage and sewage to fix the recurring floods are beyond the national budget, there is the need to seek external help to address the problem.

Mr. Atta-Akyea said this on the second day of the debate on the 2018 budget statement in Parliament.

He said it will cost the country over $700 million to effectively and permanently deal with the perennial flooding in Greater Accra Region alone.

“My only new approach will be finding money. The engineering sense won’t change. We are not going to reinvent the wheel. The engineers have put together the solution. All we need to do as a solution is to get the cash. If you have the money, the engineers will just roll out the plans and they will start working and you won’t see this again.”

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post NADMO adopts safety measures ahead of rainy season appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Captured in this photo is a compelling scene of a mother of three making a precarious journey through the rains to take her children to school.

She gets to a flooded area. It is a culvert built by residents of Nmai Dzorn, Zoomlion.

The woman with a baby wrapped behind her, is seen struggling to cross the culvert on the road, with her two kids; one draped in a big black plastic bag, with the other in a raincoat, all of them, bare-footed.

While providing cover for her little baby with her umbrella, on one hand, she lifts the two up by the arm one after the other across the culvert, into the flooded area and together ‘journey’ on to school.

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By: Caleb Kudah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post How mother defied the rain to take her 3 kids to school appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Over 500 residents in areas such as; Abuakwa, Aboabo, Atonsu and Kronom Abouhiaa, are still struggling to cope after the flood caused havoc to their abodes.

The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), is yet to provide relief items for the victims after it sent personnel to assess the situation.

A downpour in Kumasi a week ago, left residents in parts of the metropolis displaced. The four-hour downpour cost victims their properties, some of whom are still counting their losses.

A visit to a family, which was among the worst affected, at Kronom Abouhiaa, revealed destruction to their properties.

47-year old Mohammed Ibrahim, a tanker welder at the Suame Magazine, is still trying to cope with the disaster that brought pain onto his family.

The father of ten is yet to come to terms with how the flood waters wreaked havoc leading to his 3-bedroom house being submerged. Major parts of his building collapsed after it submerged.

Recounting the incident to Citi News, Ibrahim said “The flood was massive. It was very serious and anyone who attempted to go into it would have drowned. Cars that were using the road were all stuck in the water. It was later the NADMO officials came to rescue some of the victims. The boys in the area also helped in the rescue efforts.”

He indicated that, he was forced to buy the land close to the drain that usually overflows in times of a downpour because of pressure from his former landlord.

“It has not been easy for me financially. My former landlord had given me a lot of pressure. I could not bear it any longer, so I had to move out with my ten children. A friend showed me this land and I gave him some money and put up this building to live in with my family. I cannot begrudge Government if it asks me to move out from here. I will only need Government’s help”.

He has therefore appealed for Government’s help to move his family from what he now called a danger zone.

Ramatu has been married to her husband for the past 15 years. She was preparing supper for the family at the time of the visit.

With her one year old child strapped to her back as she pounded Fufu, she was equally not happy about the recent disaster.

“When there is a downpour, there is always flood. But it has not been like this until this recent incident. I was confused and praying that the water reduces so I could move out with my kids”.

Ten-year old Aisha Mohammed, Ramatu’s daughter, had been absent from school for two days because of the flood.

She lamented that she was unable to go to school with her other siblings in times of a downpour.

She has pleaded with Government to help the family.

Although officials of the NADMO blamed the flooding on people building on waterways, and described the incident as man-made, victims like Ibrahim maintain the floods are as a result of poor construction of the bridge over the drain.

The water that passes through the drain takes its source from the Owabi River. According to him, whenever there is a downpour, the drain overflows rendering even commuters vulnerable.

For Mohammed Ibrahim’s family, relief items are not an immediate need. They are appealing to Government and other philanthropists to help them relocate to a safe area.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kumasi flood victims appeal for gov’t support appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Amadu Mustapha, who presented the item on behalf of colleagues to the District Chief Executive for the area, Abdulai Yaqoub told Citi News that his colleagues who are students in Germany wanted to help the flood victims in Nanumba north whose properties and homes were destroyed by the rain.

The DCE, Abdulai Yaqoub, thanked the donors for the support and assured them that the items will be given to the intended beneficiaries.

He also called on individuals and other civil society organizations to emulate the good gesture of the Germany students.

The items donated included mattresses, buckets, plastic cups assorted drinks, among others.

Government, through the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), earlier donated relief items to the victims in the northern region.

In July, torrential rains destroyed farmlands, rendered many homeless and also claimed lives.

Roads linking the Nanumba North and South districts and the Kpandai district were washed off, cutting residents in those areas from the rest of country.

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By: Mohammed Aminu M. Alabira/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Bimbilla: Philanthropist donates to flood victims appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A town hall grew heated after City Council member Greg Travis, who represents parts of western Houston, told about 250 people that an Army Corps of Engineers official told him that certain gauges measuring water levels at the Buffalo Bayou – the city’s main waterway – failed due to a decision to release water from two municipal reservoirs to avoid an overflow.

Travis’ words inflamed tensions at the town hall, held at the Westin Houston hotel, as the region struggled to recover from Hurricane Harvey, which dropped as much as 50 inches (127 cm) of rain in some areas along Texas’ Gulf Coast, triggering historic floods.

More than 450,000 people either still do not have safe drinking water or need to boil their water first.

On Aug. 28, the Army Corps and the Harris County Flood Control District opened the Addicks and Barker reservoirs in western Houston to keep them from overflowing. They warned it would flood neighborhoods, some of which remained closed off two weeks later.

Travis said the Army Corps official said they kept releasing water without knowing the extent of the flooding. “They didn’t understand that the bathtub effect was occurring,” he said.

Residents attempting to return to flooded homes may have to contend with contaminated water and air because the city’s sewer systems overflowed during the floods. Fire chief Samuel Pena said people returning home should wear breathing masks and consider getting tetanus shots.

“We couldn’t survive the Corps – why should we rebuild?” Debora Kumbalek, who lives in Travis’ district in Houston, shouted during the town hall.

Scattered heaps of discarded appliances, wallboard and mattresses can be still seen throughout the city of 2.7 million people, the nation’s fourth-largest.

There were no representatives from the Army Corps at the town hall. An official from the Army Corps could not immediately comment. An official from the Harris County Flood Control District did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Corps released water at an intended maximum rate of 13,000 cubic feet (370 cubic meters) per second to keep those reservoirs from overflowing. However, preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that on at least two days, the average release rate exceeded that 13,000 level.

Many residents face lengthy rebuilding processes, and the majority do not have flood insurance. The Federal Emergency Management Administration will contribute a maximum of $33,000 per home in assistance to cover damages, a FEMA official said at the town hall, though for heavily flooded homes, damages will likely exceed that amount.

Fire chief Pena said homes may also be occupied by alligators, rodents and snakes due to the floods.

A total of 52 of the state’s public drinking water systems were still damaged, inoperable or destroyed, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, leaving 70,000 people without water. Another 380,000 people need to boil their water.

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Source: Reuters

The post Houston residents confront officials over decision to flood neighborhoods appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

During heavy rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, the Arkema plant at Crosby lost refrigeration of chemical compounds which need to be kept cool, and there is no way to prevent a possible fire, the company said.

At least 33 people have been killed in the aftermath of the storm.

US energy supplies have also been hit, as oil companies shut down pipelines.

The US National Weather Service downgraded the former hurricane to a tropical depression but has forecast continuing heavy rainfall over eastern Texas and western Louisiana.

What happened at the chemical plant?

The Arkema chemical plant shut down its production on Friday, before the storm made landfall.

But 40in (102cm) of rainfall in the area flooded the site and cut off its power, the company said in a statement. Backup generators were also flooded.

The facility manufactures organic peroxides, and chemicals stored on site can become dangerous at higher temperatures.

“Any fire will probably resemble a large gasoline fire,” CEO Richard Rowe told Reuters news agency. “The fire will be explosive and intense.”

He said the black smoke produced would irritate skin, eyes and lungs.

“The high water that exists on site, and the lack of power, leave us with no way to prevent it.”

The fire is expected to be mostly contained to the site itself but residents of Harris County have been evacuated in a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) radius around the plant as a precaution.

The last remaining workers at the site were evacuated on Tuesday.

How are rescue efforts progressing?

Parts of Texas have been hit by more than 50in of rainfall since Hurricane Harvey landed, setting new records before it was downgraded to a tropical storm and, late on Wednesday, to a tropical depression.

Rescue efforts continued overnight. Thousands of people have been rescued from floodwater throughout the state, and more than 32,000 people are still in emergency shelters.

Houston, the fourth most populous city in the US, was badly hit, and large parts remain underwater.

The city is also a key energy hub. The storm and its subsequent flooding has knocked out about a quarter of the country’s refining capacity, sending petrol prices to a two-year high.

Port Arthur, about 80 miles east of Houston, was also severely flooded. Mayor Derrick Freeman, posting on Facebook, said the entire city was underwater, and appealed for anyone who owned a boat to help.

Details of some of the deaths in Texas have emerged:

• In Beaumont, north-west of Port Arthur, rescue teams saved an 18-month old girl found clinging to her dead mother in the floodwaters

• In Harris County, a family of six – two great-grandparents and four children – drowned while trying to flee the floods in a van

• A married couple drowned when their truck was swept away while they were on the phone to emergency services asking for help, the Associated Press reports

On Tuesday, Houston implemented a curfew in a bid to prevent looting of abandoned homes. Port Arthur followed suit Wednesday.

• Child found clinging to dead mum in storm
• In maps: Houston and Texas flooding
• What is it like to be in Houston?

An additional 10,000 members of the National Guard were said to be on their way to Texas to join the rescue efforts, adding to the 14,000 already deployed.

Harvey was the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years when it first made landfall at Corpus Christi, 220 miles south-west of Houston, late on Friday.

At a press conference Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state could need more than $125bn (£97bn) from the federal government to help its recovery.

And he warned “the worst is not yet over”, as flooding was expected to continue for several days.

Meanwhile, the tropical depression is now moving north-north-east, the US National Weather Service said.

Heavy rainfall is expected from Louisiana to Kentucky over the next three days, and flood warnings remain in effect for south-east Texas and parts of south-west Louisiana.

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Source: BBC

The post Houston flood: ‘No way to prevent’ chemical plant blast or fire appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Hundreds of residents within the eastern corridor enclave suffered from recent flooding which hit six districts in the region.

NADMO’s Director General, Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh on Friday, August 4 handed over the first consignment of relief items to the Nanumba North District Assembly authority for onward distribution to the victims.

The items included mattresses, blankets, rubber buckets, drinking cups, cartons of cooking oil and packets of rice.

He cautioned the assembly authority against diverting the relief items for personal gains.

Led by the Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed, the team visited some cut-off road networks within the area including portions of the much touted eastern corridor road.

Salifu Saeed described the disaster as a human security threat and therefore advocated concerted efforts to support the victims.

He disclosed that residents of about 36 communities along the Bimbila-Zabzugu feeder road have been cut-off from Bimbila Township.

He tasked Civil Engineers in the region to fast track their valuation of the damaged road network for government’s swift action.

He anticipated food insecurity in the region because large acres of farmlands were eroded.

Salifu Saeed nonetheless said the region was bestowed with investment opportunities and thus invited multinationals to invest there.

NADMO is continuing with the distribution of relief items in almost all the affected communities.

Some flood victims in the Sagnarigu district and Tamale Metropolitan Area were the first beneficiaries.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Bimbilla flood victims receive relief items appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The rains which started at dawn on Monday stopped on Tuesday morning.

It left buildings collapsed and destroyed major roads including the one linking Tamale and Salaga.

The only dam in the district, ‘Wampu’ which serves as the source of water for the Bimbilla town overflowed its banks and completely washed off a nearby road.

Some residents whose properties have been destroyed called on the government to come to their aid.

“We have never seen this kind of rain for years in Nanung. Our houses are submerged and several have been destroyed. Right now we have no place to sleep, we don’t even know where to go. We are calling on the government, the district assembly and philanthropists to come to our aid,” one of the residents said.

“We are in trouble, our only source of water ‘wampu’ is going. The dam is heavily silted, now it has crossed the road and if care is not taken the whole dam will be washed off and we will be in trouble when we get into the dry season.”

The story was no different in the Nanumba South district. The two major roads from Bimbilla have both been cut off and road users can not travel to either Yendi or Tamale.

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By: Mohammed Aminu M.Alabira/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post N/R: Rainstorm wrecks havoc in Nanung appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The deceased Nicholas Attah in the company of his mates slipped off a log bridge while crossing home from school. His mates, most of whom are of the same age, stood helpless as their friend battled with the strong surfs of the water gushing through the drains.

After several hours of  a search by a rescue team made up of personnel from the Ghana Fire Service and NADMO, the lifeless body of Attah was found in the drains near Ho Polyclinic, off the Ho-Aflao road several kilometers from the Ho Seventeen suburb, where he was said to have been carried away by the flush floods.

The rains, which started in the late afternoon lasted for about two hours with drains overflowing and flooding some major streets within the city. Commuters on the Ho –Aflao road had a difficult time crossing the bridge near the Ho Polyclinic, while residents were left stranded at both ends after sections of the road were disconnected by the waters. Homes and shops along the storms drains were all flooded.

In fact, the destruction of the flood as captured by citifmonline.com were really disturbing.

 This flood cannot be solely attributed to the natural cause of excessive downpour of rain water, but rather, undesirable human activities.

And to think of a situation of this sort in a city which prides itself as one of the cleanest and properly planned in the country, one would want to question what really went amiss.

A bird eye view of Ho highlights a valley city bounded by the Weta hills and Adaklu Mountains with the terraced rain forest over the hills, receding into the main township. Seasonal streams flow from uphill to downstream through drain storms without major devastation to properties or residents.

But recent activities of humans and urbanization is making the once upon a time safe city, flood-prone. 

Ho is one of the fastest developing cities in Ghana with a population of about 177,281 representing 8.4 percent of the region’s total population according to 2010 census.

With such an increasing population, it’s no doubt the City is faced with a myriad of challenges in managing such expansions. Challenges such as improper disposal of waste, non-compliance to building regulations or land-use planning and inadequate provision of some basic social services such as potable water, are glaring for all to see.

The green belt of Ho along the catchment areas of the water bodies which supports the ecological system are under siege. Human induced activities such as uncontrolled felling of trees, human settlements, urbanization along the hills, have reduced the vegetation cover and further exposed the city to the runoffs from the hills causing erosion.

 It is common now to see in Ho the indiscriminate disposal of waste, building of houses or structures on waterways, as well as ineffective town planning; and choked drains posing a looming danger. These are evident in the drains at Civic Center, Anlokordzi, Leprosarium, Housing and Ho Technical University.

Recently in the news, we the heard the concerns of the Volta Regional Minister Dr. Archibald Letsa over the leasing of strategic lands to private individuals for development, which he said is not only a threat to the security of government officials, but also to the ecological system that supports our very existence.

“Could you envisage, Members of the Press, herein gathered and fellow citizens, assuming each of these persons allotted land decides to erect their structures or do whatever businesses, the entire vicinity would be turned into a slum of buildings at various levels of completion which will not auger well with us especially so with what we know of our planning and maintenance culture. I am reliably informed that the entire enclave supports the municipal ecology in view of the conservation of the enclave over the years. Premised on the foregoing, it is my candid view that this exercise if carried through will sharply distort this ecological advantage” he lamented.

My concerns are heightened because our elders do say that if your neighbor’s house is on fire, the best thing to do is to fetch water beside yours.  We all have been witnesses to the devastating effects of floods that have led to the loss of hundreds of lives in our national capital, Accra.

I am sure you cannot afford to be apathetic in fighting this looming danger in our regional capital. There is the obvious need to devise policy guidelines and to effectively plan the growing town to ensure the well-being of inhabitants.

We lost a child on Friday, and we are mourning. May we not cry for the same reasons tomorrow. 

Today may be Nicholas Attah, God forbids it happens to any other family.  

Yes; it is sad we have reached this state; but let us not allow the indiscipline and the indecency to escalate. Things can only change if we change our attitudes as a people.

My condolence to the bereaved family; let the recent happenings awake us all. The drainage system must be improved, officials of the Municipal Assembly including the town and country department must be seen working; lets enforce the rules without fear or favour.

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By: King Norbert Akpabli/citifmonline,com/Ghana

The post Ho floods now taking lives; how did we get here? King Norbert asks appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Domestic items such as refrigerators, cooking utensils, learning and teaching materials, clothing, foodstuff, and personal computers were destroyed by the rain.

The worst affected structures included Good Shepherd school, Ahmaddiyya A school, Gyarko JHS schools and Holy Family Hospital.

Briefing Citi News after an assessment mission, the Municipal Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Jibril Kesse Larbi, described the situation as devastating and said the necessary arrangements will be put in place to provide the affected persons with the necessary relief items.

He said his outfit were still in the process of assessing the extent of damage and encouraged victims who have not yet reported their plight to his office to do so.

The rains, which started at about 12:40am and lasted for two hours and left in its wake massive destruction in Ahenbronoso, Abourso, Hausa Line and Dwomo, all within the municipality.

The Municipal NADMO boss said some of the affected persons have started re-roofing their homes and commended some residents and neighbours who have offered shelter to the victims.

The Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr. Ibrahim Kwaku Acheampong appealed to residents to abide by the assembly’s bye-laws on building and siting of structures in the municipality.

He said the assembly was awaiting the report from NADMO and assured the victims of support and appealed to NGO’s and corporate bodies to come to their aid.

The Municipal Information Officer, Mr. Imoro Ayibani said his outfit embarked on a one-week campaign on the 2017 budget in the area and emphasized on citizens change of attitude and contribution to development.

He advised residents to plant more trees, especially around their buildings and schools to serve as a windbreak as well as help minimize the impact of rainstorms.

This he said will help ensure an incident-free raining season.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Rain wreaks havoc in Techiman [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.