Food crisis looms as rains destroy farmlands in Upper East Region

Days of torrential rains amid Burkina Faso dam spillage have worsened the plight of people in parts of the Upper East Region of Ghana.

Locals at Kubore in the Bawku West District are crying for assistance as floods take over their community. A bridge that connects Zebila and Bawku township is now inaccessible as the White Volta bursts its banks.

The Upper East Regional Directorate of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has advised all transport operators and private vehicles to suspend travel activities until the water levels recede.

“Travelers from Bolgatanga to Bawku or the other way around must take caution. The bridge at Kubore is submerged in water. The road leading to Bawku is flooded. Vehicular movement is impeded. Please do not be a victim of this hazard, prevention pays,” NADMO said in a brief statement.

Hard-hit areas are the Bawku Municipal, Bawku West, Binduri, Nabdam and Talensi, officials said.

In the early hours of Monday, September 7, 2020, the water level at the White Volta bridge at Kubore in the Bawku West District had risen over its limit submerging hundreds of farmlands and washed away livestock.

Hundreds of passenger vehicles were grounded as stranded passengers travelling to Bawku from Bolga looked helpless. The Upper East Regional Coordinator of NADMO, Jerry Asamani warned commuters to desist from travelling on the Bolgatanga-Bawku road until the floodwaters recede.

“The current situation and the flooding that we are experiencing is a result of two factors; the spillage of the Bagre Dam and the torrential rains for the last week. We cannot quantify the farmlands but the crops that have been affected are maize, rice, groundnuts, watermelon and even vegetables.

“NADMO officers on the ground are thinking of bringing in soldiers because the initial people who attempted crossing were disrespecting our advice but now because of the police presence they are abiding. What I will say is that people should not attempt crossing”, he advised.

Six persons have so far been confirmed dead in the North Eastern region due to the spillage.

Source: Daily Mail GH

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