The water level behind the dam rose above the maximum level as a result of the weekend’s torrential rainfall, which contributed to the spillage of the dam. More than half of the 5.4 million residents of the national capital receive their potable water from the dam constructed on the Densu River.
The dam’s operator, Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), according to Stanley Martey, stated the leakage was required because the amount of water behind the dam had reached its carrying limit.
In a telephone interview with Xinhua, Martey said, “We warned the villages ahead of the leak, but many did not heed the warning.
Although there haven’t been any confirmed fatalities yet, thousands of citizens had to be moved, and their homes had been devastated.
“My house is currently under water to my waist level. Our four refrigerators are all floating as we prepare meals for sale. I can understand why four of my staff fled because they feared for their lives. It truly is awful, “said businessman Philip Owusu-Afriyie. “The majority of the locals have moved elsewhere, but I’ve been here for ten years and I can’t leave. I have to stay, and I’m not sure if any assistance will arrive.”
Communities lost energy when floodwaters engulfed electricity transformers. Infections related to sanitation were a danger if the scenario persisted because water supply connections were also broken.
The deluge caught a lot of the occupants, and some individuals stranded in towering buildings were unable to make or receive phone calls because their cell phones were shut off owing to the power loss.
In the meantime, in response to distress calls, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has begun search and rescue efforts with the assistance of the Marine Police Unit, Ghana Navy, 48 Engineers Regiment, Ghana National Fire Service, and the Ghana Ambulance Service.
“It’s different in this instance. People who normally would not be affected by it are this time because it is worse than anything we have ever encountered “After a day of patrolling in the flooded communities, Richard Amo Yartey, the inspectorate director at NADMO, told Xinhua. Since we are wading through the water to save lives, the Electricity Company of Ghana had to turn off the lights in these towns to prevent electrocutions.
“We all know that this is not the typical rainy season. We are discussing climate change and global warming, and the rains occurred when no one had anticipated them, along with a huge inflow into the dam. Without the spillage, the dam might collapse and have catastrophic effects on those downstream “he added
Yartey was optimistic that things would get better after NADMO opened up the estuary to let the flood waters flow into the sea.
To supply Accra with drinkable water, the Weija Dam was constructed in 1977. However, residential areas have grown up near the Densu River, and whenever the GWCL releases too much water to protect the dam, disasters would result.