We should’ve done a compulsory evacuation ahead of Akosombo Dam spillage – NADMO

The National Disaster Management Organization (NaDMO) claims it should have devised a mandatory evacuation plan ahead of the Akosombo Dam leakage to evacuate inhabitants away from flood-prone locations.

Thousands of people in nine districts spanning the Volta, Eastern, and Greater Accra regions have lost possessions and houses due to the continued spilling of the Akosombo and Kpong Dams.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) stated that the spillage is being carried out owing to a “consistent rise in the inflow pattern and water level of the Akosombo Dam.”

In an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, Seji Saji Amedonu, the Deputy Director General of NADMO, claimed that while locals were advised to leave voluntarily ahead of the spillage, more might have been done when they failed to.

According to him, NADMO could have ordered the evacuation of all inhabitants from the region. However, it was unable to do so due to the difficulty of the assignment.

“When it gets to a point that some people do not want to move for some reason, then, we do the compulsory evacuation. Yes, we did not do compulsory evacuation. That is a difficult thing to do. Imagine moving this number of people by force. How are you going to get that done? What it means is that we needed to involve all the state security agencies to get that done” Mr. Amedonu said.

Meanwhile, the majority of the individuals who claimed to have lost their homes are now homeless and pleading with the government to help them.

 

 

 

“Over a thousand houses and properties have been submerged already and lives are being threatened so we are calling on government to come to our aid. This is the time the people of Mepe, especially those in the Volta River basin are waiting for them, they should come to our aid,” a resident pleaded.