Thursday, October 8, 2009

FLOODS: HAS THE NORTHERN REGION LEARNT ITS LESSONS? (SEPT 25, PAGE 20)

THE tragic events that followed the inundation of nine districts of the Northern Region by floods this month as a result of torrential rains and the spillage of the Bagre and Kompienga dams in Burkina Faso, are a major source of worry to residents of the region.
Stakeholders, particularly district assemblies are also concerned about the situation and as a result, are evolving strategies to bring quick relief to the affected people.
This year’s floods brought in its wake the death of four persons in the Zabzugu-Tatale, West Gonja and West Mamprusi districts. The destruction of farmlands, food stocks, houses and the isolation of many communities from the rest of the region was also recorded.
Figures indicate that more than 63,000 people, including pregnant women and children were rendered homeless while more than 991 houses collapsed in the floods. Domestic animals and birds were also washed away.
Water sources have seriously been affected due to the contamination of more than 500 hand-dug wells and boreholes. Undoubtedly, the contamination of water sources can trigger diarrhoea and other health related diseases in the affected communities.
The flooding of the affected communities also had adverse affects on physical infrastructure, including roads and bridges as they have been damaged. As a result, most of the affected communities can only be reached by boat or canoe.
A total of 214 communities were affected and in the Central Gonja district alone, 21 communities have been cut off from the rest of the district.
The Central Gonja District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Issifu Salisu has toured some of the affected communities like Kokope, Debre Port, Kponglesu, Kafuwurapei, Yapei, Sikaape and Kpetsileve to assess the extent of damage and to educate the residents on the need to move upland.
A number of rivers like the Oti and the White Volta have broken their banks thereby affecting a number of communities. Persons living in low lying parts of the flood plains of such rivers were the hard hit.
That was because the buildings in most rural areas are built of mud with shallow foundations that are non-resistant to the force of flood water. The houses therefore collapsed under such conditions thereby killing innocent people.
Spillage of both the Bagre and Kompienga dams started on September 4, 2009. Although the spillage is controlled, the volume of water spilled from September 7, 2009 to date is said to be increasing daily.
According to a report by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the worst affected districts were West Mamprusi, Tolon-Kumbungu and West Gonja where the White Volta passes. The rest were Central Gonja, Saboba, Zabzugu-Tatale, Nanumba South, Yendi and Kpandai along the Oti River.
For now most communities within the West Mamprusi and West Gonja districts, popularly known as “the overseas”, have been completely inundated and cut off from the rest of the region.
One pertinent question worthy of consideration is why do the frequent disasters occur in the region without a permanent solution to them.
It is worthy to mention that the region went through similar experiences in 2007.
The destructive effects of floods on human settlements and economic activities in the region between August and September, 2007 is still fresh on the minds of many residents of the region.
Figures recorded by the NADMO in the region showed that 20 people died in the floods that hit the region in 2007. Additionally, 22 health facilities, 18 school structures and 1,499.7 kilometres of roads were destroyed in the same year.
Two hundred and twenty-four thousand, two hundred and twenty-six (224,226) people were displaced while 9,707 houses were destroyed by the floods in the region.
Eighty-two thousand, seven hundred and thirty (82,730) acres of farmlands were washed away by the floods, including food crops as well as livestock that resulted in approximately 243,378 metric tonnes of projected shortfall in food and meat production. These happenings would certainly never be forgotten considering the level of destruction that occurred that year.
Nineteen deaths reportedly occurred during a cholera outbreak in August 2007, as a result of the floods in the region and a total of 157 cases of the disease were recorded during the same period this year.
As a result of the sad incident, a 13-member Cholera Epidemic Committee was set up to help monitor the situation and by the close of August, 2007, only two persons were said to be on admission at the Tamale West Hospital as the incidence reduced from 12 to 10 per cent.
An assessment of the impact of the floods on various sectors in the three northern regions by NADMO and other stakeholders indicated that an estimated GH¢98.25 million was needed urgently to help reconstruct facilities in the three regions. Out of that amount, Northern Region alone required about GH¢51.27 million to put the necessary infrastructure in place. Reconstruction efforts were needed in such sectors as education, roads, water, sanitation and hygiene, provision of shelters, and sustainable livelihood programmes.
A critical look at the effects of the floods in 2007 shows that there was inadequate preparation and intensive public educational campaigns hence the devastating effects of the floods on victims. It must be noted that the major cause of the floods was the torrential rains. However some analysts of the 2007 floods, including meteorologists acknowledged that adequate preparation and increased public awareness could have possibly averted such occurrence.
Unfortunately, however, two years after the region recorded that incident, the area is still experiencing the same devastating effects of the floods this year.
Judging from the happenings, one is tempted to ask what went wrong or does the recurrence of the disaster indicate that stakeholders did not draw lessons from the previous disasters in order to effectively strategise to mitigate its effects this year?
It is gratifying to note that a number of activities, including education campaigns on the need for farmers to cultivate their crops early and harvest them before July, this year, was carried out by stakeholders.
Additionally, a series of stakeholders meeting were held to brainstorm on how best to manage floods to avert its recurrence this year. So the question on the tongues of the people is why did it occur again?
Indeed, in 2008, the NADMO and other stakeholders set up committees whose members went round the various disaster prone areas in the region to educate people that eventually led to minimal destruction of property during the rainy season in that year.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the region intensified its educational campaigns in the communities, particularly flood prone areas with the formation of District Environmental Management Committees (DEMCs).
Suggestions put forward by some stakeholders include the need for people to consider the option of moving upland instead of living along river banks. Indeed, this suggestion seemed to hold the key to solving the situation as well as preventing the occurrence of deaths whenever floods occur.
Owing to the level of destruction this year’s floods have caused, the Northern Regional Minister Mr Stephen Nayina, has advocated the release of a helicopter to conduct an aerial assessment of the affected communities.
According to him, such assessment must be followed by declaring the region a disaster zone, a strategy to deal with the situation effectively.
The former Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris suggested on an Accra-based FM station, the need to carry out periodic dredging of rivers and clearing of choked drains. He also stressed the importance of intensifying public education in communities that lie along river banks on the need for residents of those areas to move upland.
He stated that this year’s public education campaigns should have started a bit earlier to avert deaths and damage to property.
Sadly, this year’s floods have occurred at a time when the region is still grappling with rebuilding those physical structures that were damaged during the 2007 floods.
Lessons learnt from many countries across the world show that rivers prone to floods are often carefully managed. Defences such as levees, bunds, reservoirs and weirs are used to prevent rivers from bursting their banks. When these defences fail, emergency measures such as sandbags or portable inflatable tubes are used.

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