The Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) says about 3,149 people have been displaced by floods in Buipe, Central Gonja District of the Savannah Region.

Development Diaries reports that the floods affected 571 male adults, 603 female adults, 950 male children, and 1,025 female children following the overflow of water from the Akosom Dam.

The floods have already damaged properties valued at thousands of Cedis, with more than 500 households impacted.

Urban flooding has been frequent in Ghana since 1930, with at least 18 out of the last 50 years recording significant flooding incidences in which lives and properties have been lost.

These flooding incidences often occur after intense or continuous rainfall, which results in high run-offs.

According to the Secretary General of the GRCS, Solomon Gayoni, disaster victims of the floods in Buipe are currently facing water, sanitation and hygiene issues.

Public restrooms have been submerged in the floods, making access to water difficult as water in the area has been contaminated.

‘We expect issues of epidemics in the area, malaria could rise high, we could get cholera and intestinal infections and typhoid’, Joy Online quoted Gayoni as saying.

Development Diaries calls on the Ghana Health Service, other health providers, and other key stakeholders in the country to immediately carry out a coordinated disaster management exercise to aid those displaced by the floods.

Photo source: Ghana News Agency