Flooding displaces residents, traps others in Dawhenya
Torrential rains on Monday, have left several communities within the Dawhenya Township heavily flooded, displacing some residents and trapping others in their homes.
Mr Moses Kutor, the Assembly Member for North Dawhenya, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that he, together with officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), had been on the ground since 0330 hours monitoring the situation and coordinating rescue efforts.
He described the flooding as severe and called for urgent structural interventions to prevent recurring disasters.
Mr Kutor said the devastation had affected several communities across the area, including the Miotso enclave, Adote, and the Dawhenya Township.
“We were on the field before daybreak and visited areas around the Miotso enclave, Adote, and the Dawhenya township itself.”
He noted that the extent of the damage was serious and severe, and indicated that rescue operations were concentrated around the Lighthouse enclave, where emergency teams were working to rescue residents trapped in their rooms by rising floodwaters.
Mr Kutor said although the rainfall was intense, human activities had significantly worsened the flooding.
He said preliminary assessments indicated that the major cause of the flooding was the construction of buildings on natural waterways and cautioned residents against disposing of refuse into drains and waterways during rainfall, warning that the practice contributed to blockages and exacerbated flooding.
Mr Kutor highlighted the area’s infrastructure deficit, explaining that many of the affected communities lacked engineered drainage systems, causing stormwater to flow directly onto roads and residential areas.
He urged residents living in flood-prone communities to prioritise their safety whenever heavy rains occurred.
“If you find yourself or your structure on a waterway, you shouldn’t stay in the room when it rains. You should vacate the place,” he advised.
Mr Kutor said he would continue to engage the Ningo-Prampram District Assembly and other relevant authorities to advocate the construction of proper drainage systems to mitigate future flooding.
Source: GNA