By: Daniel Yao Akpabli | ignewss — Hohoe, Ghana
President John Dramani Mahama has donated relief items to support victims of flooding that affected seven communities in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region.
The flooding followed continuous rainfall in neighbouring Togo, which caused the Dayi River to overflow its banks, inundating low-lying areas, particularly Hohoe Zongo and other riverside communities.
The relief package includes more than 2,500 25-kilogramme bags of rice, maize, mattresses, mats, tinned fish, cooking oil, washing powder, roofing sheets, sanitary pads, tissue paper, mosquito coils, plastic buckets and basins, as well as baby diapers.
The items were received on behalf of the post-flood committee by the Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu.
Presenting the items, President Mahama expressed sympathy to the affected residents and acknowledged the efforts of the Zongo community leadership, the Member of Parliament, the Municipal Chief Executive and other individuals and organisations supporting the relief effort.
He attributed the increasing difficulty in predicting rainfall patterns to climate change, noting that extreme weather events were becoming a growing challenge.
President Mahama also visited some affected homes in Hohoe Zongo, where he interacted with victims of the floods.
He announced that Dzata Cement had donated 5,000 bags of cement to support residents whose buildings were damaged by the disaster.
The President also conveyed the sympathies of his wife, Lordina Mahama, to the affected families.
He expressed relief upon learning that the Hohoe Adabraka Hospital, which was renovated, expanded and equipped through Mrs Mahama and her Lordina Foundation, was not affected by the flooding.
Preliminary figures from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) indicate that 5,140 residents have been displaced, while 412 houses have been damaged across the affected communities.
SOURCE: www.ignewss.com