2,300 PEOPLE DISPLACED IN SALAGA

A heavy downpour has caused a serious catastrophe in some communities in the East Gonja District of the Northern Region of Ghana.

About 2,300 people including women and children have been rendered homeless, whiles over 800 acres of farmland have also been destroyed.

The over eight hour non-stop rain amidst heavy winds affected over 17 communities and also destroyed some important public buildings, four different schools, roads, bridges and also washed away some food crops in the affected communities.

Some of the badly hit communities include Masaka, Bunjai, Tunga, Garin-shagu, Sisipe, Katanga and Gushie-Zongo among others.

However, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for East Gonja District, Alhassan Mumuni has visited the affected communities to assess the level of damage and also sympathize with the victims.

The DCE was accompanied by the District NADMO Coordinator, Umar Alhassan and the District Director of Agric, Robert Akologu and other officials of the District Assembly.

It was discovered that some of the affected communities have completely cut off from the District capital, Salaga. Mr. Alhassan Mumuni was completely taken aback by the level of devastation the rain had caused. At Grushie-Zongo, the only school in the community was also badly damaged by the rain.

At the time the DCE got to the place, all the pupils from nursery to class six (6) were studying under trees. However, Mr. Mumuni commended the authorities of the School and the community for finding temporal measures to ensure continuous teaching and learning.

He pledged the commitment of the East Gonja District Assembly to reconstruct the School with all the urgency it deserved.

He also called on the Central Government, National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and other benevolent organisations to come to the aid of the traumatized people since the Assembly alone cannot relief the people of their plights.

The East Gonja District NADMO Coordinator, Umar Alhassan said NADMO would soon come out with the total cost of the properties destroyed and also pledged to support the victims and advised them to always put precautious measures to reduce the level of devastation whenever disasters occur.