Firefighters have been deployed to help local search parties straggle through large gutters to look for two children who went missing, and rescue many others displaced in a heavy rain and stormy weather that ravaged parts of Tamale, the Northern regional capital on Tuesday.
The regional spokesman for the Fire Service, Opoku Aikins, confirming the operation to Adom News’ Illiasu Abdul Rauf said the team was dispatched after receiving numerous calls from residents of different locations seeking rescue assistance.
The rain which started early Tuesday morning poured heavily for nearly five hour period drenched many parts of the metropolis leaving two school children missing and rendered dozens homeless.
The children according to sources were returning from school and got knocked into a running water and dragged into a drown bridge at Tishegu and Kukuo, all in the city.
Efforts by the search party including officials of the fire department in the region could not find them but the search was still ongoing.
A research assistant for the Tamale Metro, Mohammed Sauwi, who was leading a data collection exercise at the Tishegu community and witnessed the incident said the search team stood and watched helplessly while the boy, aged 12, washed away in the gutter.
The torrential rain also caused swallow dams to overrun into the communities and washed away some buildings causing water to flow into structures.
Many roads, including the one running from Business High School to the Kunyevila and its surrounding communities, were inaccessible and many were left stranded.
Communities affected are Kunyevila, Dungu, Asawaba, Shishagu, Nahada and Dungu Kukuo, Tishegu, Kukuo, Russian bungalows, Gumani where many buildings are swamped by floodwaters causing massive damage to properties
The same areas faced the possibility of massive disaster as the rain season sets in, authorities have said.
