Torrential rains over the weekend destroyed houses and displaced hundreds of people at Duta and Agbawoeme, two adjoining communities near Diamond Cement at Aflao in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta region.
The rains caused severe flooding of several homes and destroyed property running into tens of thousands of Ghana cedis.
As a result, many of the residents in the affected communities have had to relocate from the area to put up with their family members in neighbouring communities.
Mrs Sylvia Awuye Akpavor, a media practitioner, who lives close to the affected communities, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the situation was alarming as it had really affected the daily life of the residents.
“I have personally visited the Duta and Agbawoeme communities. When you go there now, the situation is very bad. Buildings have collapsed and the people have lost their belongings, clothing, cooking utensils, furniture, even school children have had their uniforms, school bags and books swept away by the floods,” Mrs Akpavor said.
Mr Gabriel Ayitey, an Assembly member for Duta electoral area attributed the flooding to the spillage of a huge drainage channel (dam) constructed by the Diamond Cement factory, which overflowed its limits and spilled over into the communities.
He said: “This is not the first time we have experienced this flooding. It occurs every rainy season, but this year’s is just too much, we haven’t witnessed anything like this before. It’s a spillover from the Diamond Cement dam which opens into the communities,” Ayitey told the GNA.
He called on the management of the factory to take immediate action to redirect the drainage channel to forestall further destruction to the property and livelihoods of the people.
