MORE VACATE FLOOD PRONE AREAS (D/G Tuesday, August 26, 2008, BACK PAGE)

There has been some positive response to the campaign by the Volta River Authority (VRA), the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Information Services Department (ISD) for people in the flood-prone areas of the three northern regions to vacate to safe areas.
This comes ahead of the much anticipated spillage of water from the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso, which took place over the weekend, but so far it has had no adverse effect on downstream communities.
The opening of the Bagre Dam had in the past led to flooding in some communities along the White and Black Volta in the northern parts of Ghana with its attendant loss of lives and property.
A monitoring carried out by the Daily Graphic in the flood-prone areas in the Upper East Region yesterday indicated that so far the flow of the water had been normal with no record of excessive overflows from the river.
The District Chief Executive for Bawku West, Mr Desmond Bugbila, told the Daily Graphic that people had heeded the warning and had moved to safe grounds.
Mr Bugbila, who is also chairman of the District Disaster Management Committee, said a tour of communities like Galaka, Sapiiga and Guzongo, all near Sapeliga, the nearest Ghanaian community to the Bagre Dam, had indicated no signs of flooding apart from the usual sudden rise in water levels.
He, however, indicated that members of those communities and other communities had still been warned to stay off the areas until such time that the water would subside.
At Sandema, some residents told this reporter that unlike last year's floods, the effect of this year's spillage had been minimal, although a few houses constructed with mud had started collapsing.
The Builsa District Water and Sanitation Engineer, Mr Moses Awarikaro, last week told reporters that persistent rains had swept away the houses of 150 victims. The victims, he said, were putting up with friends and relatives.