Thousands of residents in the southwestern part of Accra, Ghana, have been displaced due to the spillage of the Weija Dam.
The dam spillage was caused by excess water following torrential rains over the weekend, which resulted in the water level behind the Dam rising above the maximum level. The Dam built on the Densu River is the source of potable water for more than half of the 5.4 million population of Accra.
Communications manager for the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) Stanley Martey, the dam operator, said the spillage was necessary as the water behind the Dam had exceeded its maximum holding capacity.
The communities were informed days ahead of the spillage. Still, many did not heed the warning, Martey said in an interview over the telephone.
There are no reported deaths yet, but thousands of residents were displaced and their properties destroyed.
Most people have left the area to save their lives.
Weija Dam spillage in Ghana Causes Thousands To Be Displaced
Power was cut off in the communities as electricity transformers were inundated by flood waters. Water supply lines were also not working, creating the possibility of sanitation-related infections should the situation persist.
Many of the residents were trapped by the flood, and some residents marooned in tall buildings could not receive or make phone calls as their cell phones had gone off due to the power outage.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), together with the Marine Police Unit, Ghana Navy, 48 Engineers Regiment, Ghana National Fire Service, and the Ghana Ambulance Service, has embarked on search and rescue operations response to distress calls.
Weija Dam spillage in Ghana Causes Thousands To Be Displaced
The situation is the worse the area has ever experienced, so people in areas which were usually not affected are affected this time.
Ghana Electricity Company had to put out the lights in these communities so there would be no electrocutions.
This isn't the normal raining season that everyone knows. The rains also came at a time nobody was expecting, and the inflow into the Dam was high. Without the spillage, it is possible for the Dam to burst, with dire consequences to those downstream.
The Dam was built in 1977 to meet Accra's potable water needs. However, residential communities, however, sprung up downstream of the Densu River. Whenever the GWCL spills excess water for the Dam's safety, it creates catastrophes.
