By Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
Esereso (Ash), July 21, GNA – The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has begun a comprehensive safety awareness campaign in flood-prone areas and how to cope with any emergency.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer (GNFS) Joshua Nquah, the Ashanti Regional Fire Officer, said the goal was to prevent fatalities during heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds.
This comes on the heels of last month’s flash floods in Kumasi that left seven people killed and caused massive destruction to property – vehicles washed away.
ACFO Nquah said education – aiding people to know what to do – the appropriate steps to take in emergency situations were important to saving lives.
He said people should have adequate and timely information on safety measures they should adopt whilst they waited to be rescued by emergency response services.
Addressing residents of Esereso, in the Bosomtwe District as part of the campaign, he said people should be able to pick the early warning signs and prepared themselves for safety before the rains set in.
The Oda River in Esereso overflowed its banks during a recent heavy downpour, displacing scores of people and washing away structures in the community.
ACFO Nguah said uncontrolled human activities, such as indiscriminate tree felling, improper disposal of waste and construction of structures on waterways were to blame for devastating flooding in parts of the region.
He urged the people maintain best environmental practices to save themselves floods and other disasters.
He pledged to take the campaign to every part of the region to make people aware of the negative impact of their own actions and attitudes.
Mr. Abdul-Basit Abdullai, Regional Operations Manager of the National Disaster Management Organization, advised the people to work together to protect the environment and said that was in their own interest.
GNA
KOM/EKB/KOB
21 July 18
