North East Region Floods: Collapsed building kills one person, injured another
The Big Stories || North East Region Floods: Collapsed building kills one person, injured another - JoyNews
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Transcript
00:00 All right, so welcome back to the AM Show.
00:03 Let's take you to the Northeast and talk about what has been happening there.
00:08 You know that over the past few days we've been reporting about a torrential rainfall
00:13 that caused a lot of havoc in that part of the country.
00:18 A main bridge even was destroyed.
00:23 The road was also destroyed as you're watching on the screens now.
00:27 Some lands have been taken over by water.
00:31 It's difficult for people in that part of the country to really go about their daily
00:35 activities like they used to because of the impact of this flooding situation.
00:41 Now the minister for that region, Yidana Zakaria, has been touring these places to assess the
00:53 extent of damage.
00:54 He joins us on the line, who will also be joined by our Northeast regional correspondent.
01:01 He will also be joining us.
01:04 He is also with us here.
01:06 We also have the NADMO director joining us as well.
01:11 Good morning to you.
01:12 I'm grateful that you could join us.
01:13 Good morning to you and to your service.
01:18 Let me start with you, Mr. Zakaria.
01:22 You have been to these places.
01:24 What did you see?
01:25 Thank you for the question.
01:30 What is left behind is destruction.
01:36 What is left behind is large swaths of farmland washed away, crops submerged in water, several
01:45 homes have been destroyed, and roads, portions of our roads have been washed away.
01:52 That is what has been left behind.
01:55 And it is a very disturbing situation.
02:01 Okay.
02:03 So, Mr. Konobo, we understand that since the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways came
02:11 in, you started some remedial works, but that is not the entire solution.
02:17 What have you planned to do to bring an end to this?
02:21 Because the dam has broken its banks.
02:23 It needs to be reconstructed and to ensure that we don't experience what we're experiencing.
02:28 What is the plan?
02:29 Ever since this issue came to the fore, wherever we are, we go with our engineers.
02:40 And we even invited the Ghana Engagement Development Authority, a donor official for the northern
02:53 sector.
02:54 He came and visited some of the dams.
02:58 He has assured us he's putting together his report.
03:03 But the dams are constructed along the road, and that, according to him, can be a potential
03:12 danger, and they will need to do some re-engineering.
03:16 The road, we move along with the regional directors, urban roads, highways, and cedar
03:24 roads.
03:25 They see the situation on the ground, and you listen to them.
03:29 They tell you that they will need to do some re-engineering work.
03:34 Was the culverts and bridges that were constructed some time ago do not seem now to be able to
03:40 carry the huge volumes of water.
03:43 And so some re-engineering has to be done if we are to construct the broken bridges
03:50 and culverts.
03:51 And in some areas, they said they need to raise the height of the road some level so
03:58 that that can help in redirecting water to pass through the bridges and culverts.
04:05 So that is the engineering bit of it.
04:09 The houses that have been flooded and collapsed, if you observe critically, all those houses
04:16 are on low-lying areas.
04:19 So the local officials are advising people whose homes have been destroyed not again
04:29 to burn on such low-lying areas.
04:32 They should move to higher ground.
04:35 And we will stand on that and speak with people to understand that if they come back to the
04:41 same low-lying areas, next time they are raised, the same fate will befall them.
04:48 So in that area of rebuilding, we think that it will be a no-no for anybody who wants to
04:55 come back and build on those low-lying areas.
04:59 What we cannot do is a farmland because, you know, land is cash.
05:08 Where people farm, if it is a low-lying area, we don't have the option to say that we
05:14 will move you to a higher ground.
05:16 Those of them who farm right, you know, the values acquired to be, they are certified.
05:23 So they do early cropping that has been washed away.
05:27 So, seriously speaking, that is an area we all need to brainstorm.
05:33 Because if you tell them not to farm there, the question is where else do they have to
05:38 go and farm?
05:40 So that one I think we need to face.
05:46 But those issues that we can deal with, we are dealing with them.
05:51 Government support has come in, but, you know, government cannot do all for us.
05:58 So I have always been using your medium to call on corporate government and individuals
06:06 who can come to our aid, within and outside this country, to come to this young region
06:12 that is facing very serious challenges now.
06:15 I think that is what I have to say.
06:17 What kind of support has government brought in?
06:21 You spoke about it, but we don't know the details.
06:24 You know, when portions of roads were washed away, initial response from government, very
06:31 first step was to fix the roads to make them more sustainable.
06:37 And we are very thankful for that.
06:39 So some of the areas that were cut off have been fixed and people can now move.
06:45 But there are still areas that have to be worked on.
06:48 And to be honest with you, when I was at Bintri yesterday, Bintri to Betuliru cannot be fixed
06:55 any time soon.
06:57 If you see the volume of water, no contractor can redirect the water to be able to do any
07:05 meaningful work to reconnect the communities there.
07:09 That may take some months until the water is received.
07:13 So the engineers were there and we couldn't leave it.
07:17 We had to come back.
07:19 So for those areas, it's like we may have to wait for some two to three months for the
07:24 water to receive so that they can be accessed.
07:29 Well, no contractor will risk his men and equipment to go to those areas.
07:34 There is a story in some parts of the Kifoni district.
07:38 The DCEU and the LEP have tried several to reach out to some areas and they have not
07:44 been able to.
07:46 And the LEP is still at home.
07:49 Honorable Razak, the DCEU is at home.
07:52 Myself, I wanted to go there today.
07:54 We are even thinking of how to get access.
07:58 I wanted to drive through the Yiro district to the place, but that appears not to be possible.
08:06 Possible.
08:08 But is the Pualugu Dam close to you, the proposed Pualugu Dam, is it close to you?
08:16 Pualugu Dam, more or less, is in the northeast region.
08:22 But the river, if only when they overflow the bank, that communities around will be
08:32 inundated with water.
08:34 But the several years of education by your media and others, people have now come to
08:40 understand that they cannot every year go through the same experience.
08:45 So if you get to hear from people, it's only farmlands that have been submerged.
08:51 The communities themselves are not in those low lying areas.
08:55 So in that regard, our biggest worry is the farms that have been flooded.
09:02 But for human life, thanks to our maker, I think that they are recorded to death.
09:10 That's unfortunate.
09:11 But if it were in the past, it would have been more than that.
09:16 So two people have died?
09:18 So far, yes.
09:21 One died on his way from Geturi to Binturi.
09:27 He was caught in the rain and he didn't know that a crater had actually been created on
09:33 the road.
09:34 So he fell into it.
09:36 Unfortunately, that was the end of his life.
09:40 And a community called Gardini, one little boy, no children in water, whatever happened,
09:49 when the parents were trying to salvage what they caught, this child out of nowhere decided
09:56 to swim in the water.
09:58 And that also was the end of his life.
10:01 So these two, unfortunately, we lost them.
10:05 A third person, he was injured and he's still going through treatment at the Bangasanga
10:12 Regional Hospital.
10:13 And we are praying for him to recover.
10:16 So had the dam not broken in banks, this wouldn't have happened, right?
10:23 I wouldn't say so.
10:25 Because the Binturi area that I'm talking about, and the Tripoli area, it's not about
10:30 dams, vessels, the banks.
10:34 It is just about what we call floods everywhere.
10:40 So it's not about dams.
10:42 Because many of those areas are low-lying.
10:45 And so when it rains, the ramble is what I call it.
10:50 The dam issue is only the one that is at advantage, which breaks the banks and eroded the road
10:59 and carried away the bridge.
11:02 So that is it.
11:04 The other human threat is the dam in the regional capital, Manerwe.
11:09 That one too, we have a close eye on it.
11:12 And some steps have been taken to the intervention of His Excellency the Vice President to quickly
11:19 maintain it in order that that one too does not suffer the fate of the Banu Dam.
11:26 So let me say that the experience of flooding is not all attributed to dams, vessels, the
11:36 banks.
11:37 It's not exactly the case.
11:39 The only case is the Banu example.
11:42 But for most parts of the East Mamputi, the Union District, the Bunkurgun, Nakandiri,
11:47 and the Tripoli District, it's just flooding.
11:50 It's not as a result of dams, vessels, the banks.
11:53 Okay.
11:54 Hold the line for me.
11:56 Let me bring in the NADMO Director for the Northeast Region, Kweku Alhassan.
12:01 Kweku, Mr. Alhassan, I'm grateful for joining us here.
12:04 What is the extent of damage from all of those flooding situations in the region?
12:10 First of all, let me apologize to my minister for not updating him on the depth of the fault.
12:20 Because they were having challenges with our network, so I wanted to give him the update,
12:25 but it wasn't possible.
12:27 So the West Mamputi municipality, we have two of the depths.
12:33 The East Mamputi, we have one.
12:35 Union and so on, one.
12:37 So in all, the depth is four.
12:40 But apart from that, I'm not sure there's anything new for me to add to what the regional
12:45 minister has said, because as part of the team that went around to do the assessment,
12:51 as he has indicated, what has happened to us, or what has left behind, is just about
12:56 destruction.
12:58 But what I can also say is to also thank government and NADMO for responding swiftly to the plight
13:04 of the victims in the region.
13:07 The Director General earlier said some relief items were required.
13:11 And then also promised that some were coming back home.
13:15 The day before yesterday, we received some of the items.
13:18 Yesterday, we received some other items too.
13:21 So I'm yet to meet with the regional minister and other stakeholders for us to see how we
13:27 can do to help these victims.
13:30 But in the military area, there was this municipality, Jimbali, that was completely pulled down as
13:37 a result of the floods.
13:39 We collaborated with Ghana Education Service and released a particular school for us.
13:43 We went to house them there.
13:45 And we also provided some relief items and other logistics.
13:50 Today and tomorrow, we'll be going back to them and to see how best to support them.
13:56 As what the minister suggests, the situation is not all that good.
14:00 But government cannot handle the situation.
14:04 We are appealing to other government partners, religious organizations, to come out and support
14:11 the victims.
14:12 So they can get their normal status.
14:15 So what are the details of the dead?
14:18 You said four people?
14:20 Yes.
14:21 Made up of who and who?
14:24 As a result of drowning.
14:26 But one of them, who is the child, it was the room that collapsed on her and the men's
14:32 side.
14:33 Which part?
14:34 That's the unit on this street in a community called Zambouki.
14:40 Okay.
14:41 Yes.
14:42 So that's a building collapse, right?
14:44 Yes, yes, yes.
14:45 Okay.
14:46 And the other three are drowning?
14:47 Yes, drowning, yes, yes.
14:48 The minister said one person is a child.
14:54 So apart from the child, are all the other three adults or we've had more children?
15:00 No, two are adults, but two are children.
15:04 Okay.
15:05 Yes.
15:06 Yes.
15:07 Okay.
15:08 Interesting.
15:09 So what sort of support are you giving to the people now as we speak?
15:17 Well, we are giving them food items like rice, like oil, blankets, mattresses, blankets,
15:26 and other cooking utensils.
15:27 We know there are food utensils and most of the blankets have been washed away and they
15:32 are used good.
15:33 So these are some of the supports we are giving to the people for now.
15:40 I see some people's produce were also, you know, drenched in water and they tried relocating
15:48 those ones.
15:49 Yes.
15:50 Some people have been displaced from their homes.
15:53 Yes.
15:54 Have you found a place for these people to keep them safe for now?
15:58 Like I said, over here, our people are such that when they are displaced and you try to
16:04 provide them with a safe haven for them to go and stay there, sometimes some of them
16:08 are not comfortable with that.
16:09 They prefer going to be with their relatives.
16:11 And when it happens like that, we don't have a problem with that.
16:16 We only allow them to go and stay with their relatives and then whatever support that we
16:20 have, we provide them.
16:22 And those that agree, we take them to the safe havens and make the necessary provisions
16:27 for them to stay in their comfortableness.
16:31 All right.
16:33 So if someone decides to come in to offer support, what kind of support do you need?
16:41 The support can be in various forms.
16:45 It could be food items, building materials, clothing, cooking utensils, even cash.
16:53 It's also because their businesses and other things have been disrupted.
16:57 So the support can be in that form.
17:02 Okay.
17:03 All right then.
17:06 So let's see how it will go.
17:10 But are you picking a report of the situation today?
17:13 As we speak, what's the latest on this matter, on this flooding situation?
17:17 Like my minister indicated to you, you see some of the areas are not accessible.
17:21 So you will not be able to get there.
17:23 But we have the idea about what is happening there because the farmland, their rooms, and
17:29 then the road network, the movement is actually difficult for them.
17:34 But like I said, we are on the ground trying to see how best we can help the situation
17:39 within our own capacity.
17:42 But the places that you can assess, is the water receding?
17:47 Not as much because I just want to take our time to do the proper thing because we have
17:55 been able to do assessment in 66 communities across the region.
17:59 Okay.
18:00 66 communities across the region.
18:02 So we are still doing the assessment.
18:04 So as and when we are done, we will share the report with you.
18:09 All right.
18:10 I pray that you are able to reach the hard to reach communities because we don't know
18:14 what's happening.
18:15 I mean, you may be getting a report, but as to exactly what the extent, you may have to
18:19 be there to see for yourself.
18:20 So we pray that you are able to assess these communities early.
18:23 But let me give up to Mr. Yedana Zakaria.
18:27 So we are also picking, you know, information that probably the military should be involved
18:37 in there so that you can reach these hard to reach communities.
18:40 Is that something that you are considering?
18:45 I think that for now, we will make attempts with NAVLEG and other institutions that are
18:57 involved in this to try to see the big things we can do.
19:01 When it comes to that point where we will need the military, we will do that.
19:07 I don't want to be an alarmist.
19:09 I hope and pray that we overcome this one too.
19:13 So that is what I can say for now.
19:16 For that to happen, the regional security council would have to meet and take a decision
19:23 based on the report that we received from the district security committee.
19:28 I think that when we get to that point, we will share and communicate that.
19:34 But for now, we pray and hope that the rain will slow down and then if the flooding will
19:44 cease, we can begin to pick up the pieces.
19:49 So we also know that after the rains, we need water for the farms.
19:53 A lot of farms are up there.
19:56 Going forward, any idea about harvesting the rainwater so that it can be put to use after
20:04 or during the dry season?
20:07 I think that would be a very good thing to do.
20:11 Well, yesterday, that was a conversation I had with some of the engineers.
20:16 They were asking the question, if we have this volume of water, destroying and just
20:23 running into wherever it has to go, what happens in the dry season?
20:28 What do you think we need to do for the farm?
20:31 They were also looking at the possibility that in any attempt to take the road, given
20:37 that we have the envelope of resources, it would be very good for us to think about how
20:43 we can get and clean some of the water in future so that we can use it for dry season
20:51 farming.
20:52 That conversation is quite an interesting one.
20:56 But of course, it comes with money.
20:59 That has to be budgeted for.
21:01 So I believe that the authorities, including my group and all the others in the media,
21:08 that conversation is good for us all to engage in.
21:15 But as I watched the videos from the community where the bridge had been destroyed, from
21:23 the layman's eye, I saw that the asphalt that was applied to the road was a very thin one.
21:30 And of course, I'm sure you've seen that.
21:32 Is this something you're looking into to see why the contractor did such a job?
21:39 No, I'm not in a position to query the quality of work that has been delivered.
21:49 But if you listen to the engineers, they tell us that the collapse of the bridge is not
21:56 due to poor engineering or poor work by the contractor.
22:01 It is just that no engineering work would have been able to withstand the pressure of
22:10 the water that accounted for the sequences.
22:15 But I believe what you are referring to is the minimal bridge.
22:19 The contractor did the work and applied a fair coat of decrement surface.
22:27 He was supposed to do a second one, but that is after you have allowed some time for the
22:33 first one to dry up, for them to observe where they would need to do to get the totality
22:41 done.
22:42 That is where you are referring to.
22:44 So let me say that from the information that I have, it was just the fair coat of decrement
22:51 surface that was done.
22:53 So if you visit the site, even before the rain, the contractor was on site trying to
23:01 secure the approach of the road, again the bridge.
23:08 That work was still ongoing before all this happened.
23:12 But thankfully, that bridge in particular has not been destroyed.
23:16 So what they only need to do is to come back and clean the gravel, ram it up, and then
23:22 apply the decrement surface.
23:25 All right.
23:28 We'll still be keeping tabs on you to find out what's happening because it's quite a
23:33 situation when you hear that some communities have been cut off and you cannot assess them
23:36 at all.
23:37 So our heart and our eye are with you.
23:39 We pray that things normalize so that things will be OK for you.
23:47 But just before, Mr. Lassan, before I let you go, what sort of advice would you give
23:54 the people in those areas who maybe could be listening to us?
23:59 I know it is not easy for them.
24:04 I understand the situation that they are going through.
24:07 But I'm only appealing to them to continue to be patient with the government and the
24:13 government has tried to roll out measures to help them overcome this problem.
24:20 And also we are still in the midst of the rain.
24:23 I'm calling on them to be on their legs, not to play with the floodwaters because we need
24:30 them alive.
24:31 So they should be on their legs and be very cautious about their own safety going forward.
24:38 OK.
24:39 All right.
24:40 Grateful to you for joining us here.
24:41 John Kwikwa Hassan is the NADMO Director for the Northeast Region.
24:45 Earlier you heard Yidana Zakaria.
24:48 He is the Regional Minister for the Northeast Region.
24:52 So if you just joined us, the flooding situation in that area has resulted in the death of
24:58 four persons, two adults and two children, one in East Mampusi, two in West Mampusi and
25:08 one in Union.
25:09 So that is the breakdown for you.
25:11 Very, very unfortunate situation.
25:13 We understand that from the videos we're watching and information we're gathering, lives and
25:19 properties have been affected badly and all the support they can muster will be hugely
25:26 important for them.
25:27 So if you're watching us and you feel that you can support them, kindly reach out to
25:32 the people in the Northeast Region.
25:35 [Music]
25:36 [Music]