An intense rainfall last Thursday morning left sections of Sandema in the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region inundated with flood waters, which flooded homes, disrupted movement and damaged portions of the major road leading to the town.
The floodwaters, which overwhelmed parts of the community, particularly around the Presbyterian Church of Ghana area and the entrance to the town, also extended to portions of the Sandema–Navrongo road, forcing motorists on the route to exercise extreme caution.
Although the road remained passable, sections of it were washed away, raising safety concerns for road users at night.
No casualties had been reported as of the time of filing this report, but residents said several homes and personal belongings were lost to the flooding.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Builsa North, Solomon Ansoabayie Akogti, said the Municipal Assembly was scheduled to hold discussions yesterday to assess the extent of the damage and determine the next course of action.
The Assembly Member for the Bilinsa Electoral area, Clifford Apag Ayarik, told the Daily Graphic that some houses were submerged to levels exceeding the height of their windows.
Damages
“There are houses closer to the entrance of the town that were flooded. The water entered rooms up to window level and, in some cases, even above window level. A lot of property has been damaged,” he said.
Mr Ayarik attributed the recurring flooding to an abandoned drainage project and explained that years ago, a contractor was awarded a contract to reconstruct portions of the road and construct large culverts between the Presbyterian Church of Ghana area and the town centre to improve the flow of floodwaters.
He said as part of the project, a temporary road was created adjacent to the main road and diverted to allow work to proceed while the existing road and some large mahogany trees were cleared.
Mr Ayarik, however, said the project was abandoned before completion.
Culverts
He said although a few circular culverts were installed beneath the temporary road, they could not contain the volumes of water that flowed through the area during heavy rains.
The Assemblyman, therefore, proposed the construction of multiple large box culverts along the affected stretch and appealed for the construction of wider culverts from the Presbyterian Church of Ghana area.
He also proposed the construction of a dam upstream, near Nyansa to retain excess runoff before it gets to Sandema.
“If they are able to construct a dam at Nyansa, it will hold substantial volumes of water upstream and reduce the pressure on Sandema whenever there is heavy rainfall,” Mr Ayarik added.
Safety concerns
In a related development, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has advised residents and road users to desist from wading through floodwaters.
The Deputy Director in Charge of Technical and Risk Reduction at NADMO in the Builsa North Municipality, Abonaampo Godwin, cautioned motorists, traders and schoolchildren against taking unnecessary risks.
He said floodwaters could conceal deep channels and strong currents capable of sweeping people, motorcycles and vehicles away and urged commuters to ply the main road where the water had receded.
