Tuesday, 07 July

29 killed, 6 unaccounted for in nationwide floods – Interior Minister

News
Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak.

At least 29 people have died and six others remain missing following a series of flood disasters across parts of Ghana, according to Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak.

Addressing Parliament's Public Assurance Committee, the Minister said the fatalities were recorded in the Greater Accra, Central and Volta regions after separate flooding incidents in recent weeks.

He explained that the deadliest incident occurred in the Central Region, where severe flooding a week before the June 29 Accra floods claimed 18 lives and destroyed 58 homes.

The Minister further revealed that the June 29 floods in Accra resulted in 12 confirmed deaths, with seven people initially reported missing. He noted that a body recovered on Monday is yet to be officially identified, but if confirmed as one of the missing victims, the Accra death toll will rise to 13 while the number of missing persons drops to six.

He added that flooding in the Volta Region also claimed four lives, bringing the nationwide death toll to 29.

Mr Mohammed-Mubarak said government agencies quickly activated emergency response measures, including the establishment of temporary shelters for displaced residents. However, he indicated that many victims chose to remain in their communities instead of relocating to the shelters, preferring to receive relief supplies to support them where they lived.

According to the Minister, the Ministry of Gender designated three temporary shelters with space for about 200 displaced persons, while another facility in Ashaiman was prepared to house up to 1,000 people if required. Additional mattresses were procured, and contingency plans were put in place to convert selected public buildings into emergency accommodation.

He also disclosed that the National Security Secretariat made available an additional facility with the capacity to shelter approximately 300 displaced persons as part of the government's disaster response strategy.

Source: Classfmonline.com/Zita Okwang