Some affected areas include Aboabo, Asebi Junction and Asokore Mampong.

The Aboabo stream known as Pelele has also been flooded and residents in the area are currently struggling to use the foot bridge on the stream.

Flooding in the area in 2015 destroyed a lot of properties while some five persons lost their lives.

Former President John Dramani Mahama at the time promised to reconstruct the foot bridge into a bigger size.

He also promised to ensure that the Pelele stream was dredged to forestall the perennial flooding challenges in the area.

Although the dredging took place, it was later stopped.

The Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly also demolished about 30 wooden structures built on water ways to prevent flooding in the area but this new development suggests that the measures adopted have really not been effective in tackling flooding within the said areas.

In a related development, a football match between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak at the Baba Yara Sports in Kumais was brought to an abrupt end following the downpour which made the pitch difficult to play on.

The match dubbed the President’s Cup was however postponed to the next day for the game to continue.

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By: Lauretta Timah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Parts of Kumasi flooded after 3-hour downpour appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The season would be characterised by lengthy dry spells, especially over the coastal and transitional belts, a release from the agency added.

It said for the West Coast, the mean onset date of the rainy season had been forecasted to be within the second and third week of March, with the range of expected rainfall over the West Coast being 1,000 millimeters to 1250 (mm), an increase of about 90% over that of 2016.

For the East Coastal Belt, it said the rains were expected within the second and third week of March. The range of expected rainfall amount over this region is 390mm to 490mm, an increase of about 10 per cent over that of 2016, the release said.

The rainy season is expected to begin in the Forest Region of the country in the second and third week of March, with an estimated amount of 470mm to 600mm, the release said.

This meant an increase of 25 percent over that of 2016, it explained.

Within the Transitional Belt Region, the Meteo said, the rains were expected also within the second and third week of March.

It said the expected rainfall in that region was from 550mm to 690 mm, an increase of about 55% over that of 2016.

The Northern Belt of the country, however, would experience the rainy season within the fourth week of April and the first week of May, the release said.

It said the expected range of the rainfall amount over the region was from 1090mm to 1360mm, an increase of about 10% over that of 2016, with the estimated cessation date being the end of October.

The Upper West and Upper East Regions would also experience the rainy season within the first and second week of May, said the release.

It said whilst the expected rainfall range for the Upper West Region was estimated at between 960mm and 1200mm, which was 20% more than that of 2016, the Upper East Region was expected to have rainfall amounts ranging from 700mm to 970mm.

The mean cessation dates for these regions were expected to be about the third week of October, the release said.

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Source: GNA

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Narrating the incident to journalists, an eyewitness said, “a kenkey seller during the downpour got electrocuted when she tried to step into the rain to cover her stuff.”

She was said to have “remained stiff and unconscious for over an hour immediately she stepped into the electrically charged gushing water. Though a police man gathered the strength to pull her out, he also got electrocuted in the process and stiffened before he could get out with the Kenney seller,” this eyewitness added.

Another eyewitness said that two other women and a schoolboy also got electrocuted.

All the five victims according to reports were rushed to the SDA Clinic at the Takoradi Market Circle for treatment.

The point where electrically charged cables got in touch with the gushing water is yet to be known, though some suspect it might have been caused by the many illegal connections around the market.

The third woman is also said to be in critical condition.

Doctors at the SDA clinic at Takoradi Market Circle pronounced the yet to be identified school pupil dead while the rest of the victims have since been transferred to the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi.

Meanwhile, scores of police personnel at the Effiakuma police quarters have been rendered homeless following the downpour.

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Jamasi SDA primary, one of the worst affected in the community, had two (2) separate blocks of the school, which houses primaries 6 to 1, the store room and the headmaster’s office utterly destroyed.

The Headmaster of the Jamasi SDA Primary, Mr. Nti Berko narrating the incident, said “we thought that the school building was in good shape, hardly did we know that it wasn’t in a good shape as we estimated. So the rains as they came on Saturday evening ripped off the roofs of about six (6) classrooms, in addition to the six (6) classrooms, the head teacher’s office and the store room of the school, the roofs have all been scrapped off.”

He lamented that, “books and other items were soaked, we have only one computer, and it was also soaked in the rain, items have been destroyed.”

The teachers of the Jamasi SDA Primary School had no option than to put all pupils into the 3-classroom blocks that were not affected. However, teaching and learning had been halted.

A class 6 teacher who spoke with Citi News said no effective instruction can take place under the circumstance.

“We cannot do any effective teaching and learning, because we have to combine all the classes, from class 6 to class 3, and looking at the syllabus, there is nothing in common we can teach them, so everything has been brought to a standstill, and controlling the kids too, because of their numbers ir is going to be very difficult.”

Five other schools under the Jamasi circuit affected by the rainstorm include, Rashadiya RC Primary, Ansaria Primary, LA Experimental, Dawu RC Pimary and the Presby Primary.

At Rashadiya RC Primary, the new 6-unit classroom block, which is still under construction, had its roof also ripped off by the rains.

The Sekyere District Education Director, Mrs. Jocelyn Asante Boamah, who was visiting the affected schools, said “we are now accessing, we have to get a holistic view of what is happening, then we can take a solid decision.”

She added that, “if it becomes necessary to even go on break for a day or two, especially where there are younger children in kindergarten and lower primary, we will do that.”

The Presiding Member of the Assembly, Hon. Michael Opoku, said “there is going to be an emergency meeting today (Tuesday), myself as presiding member, the coordinating director and the education director, and we will invite the NADMO coordinator, because we have asked them to go round to access and bring their reports. Based on their report, we’ll get to know those immediate needs the assembly has to come in to deal with …we’ll look into  the assembly’s coffers and find out whether we can get some money and then get some relief items.”

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By: Lauretta Timah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post GES assesses damage to school blocks hit by rains at Jamasi appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.