NADMO cautions against dangers of flooding

The National Disaster Management (NADMO), has urged the public to pay heed to weather warnings, in order to ensure safety as the rainy season continues.

The public has also been advised on a number of measures, to help mitigate the ill effects of heavy rains.

Mr. George Kwadwo Ayisi, Head of Public Relations, NADMO, told the Ghana News Agency that with the Ghana Meteorological Agency predicting the rains to last a week or two, it was important for the public to continue taking key safety measures.

He first touched on the safety of children and said parents should not allow their children to walk through floodwaters during rains.

Mr. Ayisi said school authorities should also not be in a hurry to close when it threatened to rain because allowing school children out during such a time exposed them to life-threatening floods, as well as other dangers of rainfall such as falling trees, branches and other objects.

He said people should make it a point to switch off electrical gadgets as much as possible during rains, because such gadgets when turned on, generated power through flooded waters, which could potentially cause electrocutions.

Mr. Ayisi said floodwaters typically contained unhealthy substances such as faecal matter and cautioned, that if foodstuffs got covered by floods, they either had to be thoroughly washed or disposed of, in order to prevent them from contamination.

He urged people to be extra vigilant and look out for dangerous reptiles such as snakes that were easily carried into homes during floods.

Mr. Ayisi cautioned motorists to be extra cautious during rains and said as much as possible, people should avoid driving through floodwaters.

He observed that floodwaters could easily sweep a car off and carry it away, no matter how heavy it might be.

Southern Ghana is currently experiencing its second rainy season, which has been characterised by sudden bouts of rainfall, often resulting in flooding within certain parts of the country.

The most recent downpour saw a number of areas within the capital flooding, which brought vehicular traffic to a stop for a while on the Accra-Tema motorway because drivers could not risk moving through floodwaters.

The Ghana Meteorological Agency says the season which is getting to its end, could yield a few more rains.