A 50-minute heavy downpour at Damongo in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region has rendered several residents homeless with many homes, shops and schools flooded.
The rain started around 10:00 pm last night and stopped briefly but resumed at dawn today at about 5:00 am with a heavy downpour.
Both public and private property such as bridges, schools, houses including farmlands and shops were affected.
Also, many maize and groundnut farms at Redemption Town and Soalepe were submerged, but with no life lost.
The affected communities include Canteen, Redemption Town, Fire Service, Hangarline and Soalepe.
But Fire Service and Redemption Town were the most affected.
Also, the two main dams, Agric and Canteen at Damongo that were dried, suddenly became full after the downpour.
Some residents narrated their ordeal to JoyNews.
“I’ve seen flood like this before but not in Damongo Town. This is the first time I am seeing the Damongo one and it’s very serious. We need to do many things if not, all of us will be submerged.
“I also think this is an advice because I’ll be very happy the announcement is made in town that when you are buying a land or building a house, you should know where to buy or build,” he indicated.
Another resident stated: “As for me, what came into my mind at that moment was very bad. Because I thought the water will carry us away.
“So I woke everybody up and picked up my child and ran away. I only came back this morning and see, all my property in the chamber and hall are flooded.”
Personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service, who were called to the scene, also shared their observations with JoyNews.
“We had a distress call that there was a flood in Damongo so we quickly responded and moved to the scene but no life has been lost.
“With what I’ve seen, I think authorities have to do something about it as quickly as possible. They say it is the first time they are experiencing a flood like this and I think the new constructions have caused it and the rain has just started,” AdoiiI Philip Okimah stated.
But the Savannah Regional Minister, Saeed Muhazu Jibril, said there is a mapped out plan that will improve the situation.
The Minister, however, added, “you see, I don’t blame the people, I blame the town planners. If somebody is coming to construct a house here and you give the person a permit, that’s where the problem begins.
“Once a permit is not given to that person, he will not go and build because as human as we are, we are desperate sometimes that you will not even know that this place was once a stream. Just one downpour and look at what it has caused. ”
The Regional Minister further said, ” but the next stage of operations by my administration is the removal of all unauthorised structures in town. We have started slowly with this commercial charcoal burning and illegal logging and will after that clear all such structures from the capital,” Mr Jibril warned.
