The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has provided relief items worth GH¢ 12,000 to victims of a flood disaster at Fante Akuraa at Yeji in the Pru District of Brong Ahafo.   

The items are 50 bags of rice, 180 gallons of cooking oil, 300 pieces of blankets, 200 student mattresses, 40 pieces of treated nets, three bales of second hand clothing and 800 plastic plates and cups.   

About 360 houses in the community were washed away by the floods that followed a heavy downpour about two weeks ago and more than 1000 residents were displaced.   

Facilities including toilets, cattle kraals, mosques, low tension poles and market stalls, and the engine room and offices of the Ghana Water Company, were also submerged.   

The residents attributed the disaster to the opening of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso, saying they had lived in the area for the past 27 years and had until then never experienced that kind of a disaster.   

Mr. Joseph Blankson Nyarko, Brong Ahafo regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, who made the presentation, described the disaster as "very unfortunate" and urged the victims to re-organise themselves and get on with their lives.   

He advised them to be cautious in their activities to guard against future occurrences.   

Mr. Masu Mohammed, Pru District Chief Executive, appealed to philanthropists and NGOs to go to the aid of the displaced victims.   

The residents appealed to the government to provide them with cement and roofing sheets to rebuild their houses.   

In a another development, Major Derek Oduro, (rtd) MP for Nkoranza North, has advised the people to be cautious about how they handle naked fires and the use electrical appliances at home to prevent fire disasters.  

He gave the advice when he presented 50 bags of cement valued at GH¢ 700 to Mr. Kofi Amankwaa, a 42 year old farmer of Bonte in the district to rebuild his two-roomed house that was destroyed by fire last August.   

The MP urged Assembly Members, unit committees, traditional and religious authorities to join the campaign against bushfires during the harmattan season.   

Mr. Amankwaa expressed gratitude to the MP, as well as the district assembly and NADMO for also providing him with some relief items.

PF