CARE International produces map on flooding
CARE International has produced flood risk maps for the Western Region that would be useful for the government and other agencies in the event of such a disaster.
In a statement issued in Accra at the weekend, CARE referred to the 2010 heavy flooding that affected more than 700,000 people and destroyed a great number of houses, farmlands and infrastructure such as roads, schools and clinics.
It said the Region was one of the areas affected by the floods with more than 20,000 people feeling the impact.
CARE said it provided emergency relief services in the flooded areas and one key task the Region was data collection on the extent of flooding in the area.
It said the data collected was fed into a Geographical Information System (GIS) computer programme, which provided accurate calculations and precise mapping of flood prone areas.
“With the support of a GIS Volunteer from Denmark (Thomas Kristian Andersen), CARE has produced a map which identifies flood prone areas and provides information on towns likely to be affected in the wake of a flood.
“It is expected that the map would be used by government agencies such as National Disaster Management Organisation, district assemblies and other institutions with a stake in disaster management to provide emergency response plans, warning systems and flood protection mechanisms to minimise the high level of damage as a result of flooding in Ghana.”
The Senior Programme Co-ordinator for CARE Ghana’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Portfolio, Mr Godfrey Mitti, observed that flooding had affected the output of CARE’s work in some communities such as Enchi in the Western Region by eroding most of the gains in development people had made.
“The Flood Risk Map will enable us take precaution when implementing a development programme and teach people how to respond during flooding. The map for Western Region is the first step as part of plans to map out flood prone areas in the entire Ghana.”
The maps were produced from data collected by CARE in July and November 2010, NADMO’s historical flooding data, a digital elevation model, and satellite images showing the extent to which towns are likely to be flooded when water level in rivers rises.
Source: GNA