Scores of residents at Nzema Akropong in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region have been rendered homeless following a heavy downpour on Friday.
Several structures have been razed down as a result of the downpour whereas personal belongings such as mattresses, carpets, television sets, home theatres and others have been destroyed.
About 200 households have been affected by the flood
Read full article.and over 1,000 residents have been displayed.
Speaking to the Assembly Member of the area, Hon. Anthony Eshun said that about 12 years ago same incident occurred where several residents lost their properties.
"About 12 years ago the same incident happened, in fact it wasn't easy, school buildings, households, stores, everything was displayed, the entire community was submerged in the water and this year, it has come again, the torrential rainfall that started on Wednesday and stopped on Friday has resulted in what we are seeing today", he said.
He said the current situation has affected school children and farmers.
"It is a serious situation, students cannot go to school, farmers cannot go to farm, everything is in total mess", he worried.
Mr. Anthony Eshun who was also affected by the flood, lamented that they were not having better places to sleep.
He added that the only places they get to sleep were church buildings in the area which were not affected by the flood.
"Right now, sleeping place is a big challenge for us as we speak now, right now we have relocated some of the victims into classrooms, they are managing the classroom, some are also sleeping in church buildings and these buildings belong to the S.D.A, Methodist Church and Roman Catholic Church", he said.
He added that, "as we know we are in the rainy season, sleeping in a classroom or church building, just imagine the mosquitoes and rodents, mosquitoes have been bitten us at night and in fact, my people are suffering".
The Assemblyman took the opportunity to disclose that the residents of the community were ready to relocate from the old place and settle at a new place.
He therefore, appealed the District Assembly and other Non Governmental Organizations to support them to relocate from the old community.
"We are pleading with the government, the Ellembelle DCE Kwasi Bonzoh, Ellembelle MP Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah and other Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to come into our aid. In fact, we are prepared to be relocated to a new site because where we are counting staying is a low land area so when it rains a little bit the whole entire community becomes flooded, so once the Chief and his Elders have given us nice land, we are pleading with the government and NGOs to come into our aid at least to clear the land and do the necessary layout for us so that we can move there to prevent future occurrences", he appealed.
He, therefore, took the opportunity to appeal for relief items to support the flood victims.
On his part, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Ellembelle, Mr. Kwasi Bonzoh who led a team of the Assembly staff to the area described the situation a big blow.
"It is a major disaster, if you look at it, it is very serious, we have went rounds and so far about 200 households which have been submerged in water, most of the houses have collapsed. Averagely, there are about six to seven people in each of those households, so of you look at it is almost the entire community which is displayed", he worried.
He emphasized, "unfortunately, this is not the first time, according to the residents, it is a third time within 12 years and anytime they rebuild their structures in the same location it happens again so this time around the residents themselves have agreed to be relocated. Everybody is calling for relocation but that come at a cost, we have already identified a new site that they are willing to move so we will help them to relocate from the old place because that place is a low land area".
Some victims who spoke to the media revealed that they have lost virtually all their belongings to the flood and appealed for urgent support.
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