Jukwa — More than 700 houses were submerged in different communities in the Central Region by floods on Saturday.
A couple of bridges and roads also were destroyed, thereby making the road network impassable.
One of such bridges is the one over River Surowi at Jukwa on the Cape Coast-TwifoPraso road;Jukwais in the Hemang Lower Denkyira District.
A prison officer who tried to assist someone to wade through the flood waters died in the process as he was swept away by the flood.
The floods were as a result of the Kakum and Surowi rivers over-flowing their banks due to heavy rainfall in the area.
At Simiw in the Komenda-Edina-Egyuafo-Abrem (KEEA) municipality, over 50 mud houses were destroyed by the floods.
Those displaced were currently being housed in classrooms and churches or staying with relatives and friends.
Some of the affected areas are Simiw, Nkontrodo, Ntranoa, Abina, Atonkwa, Ankaful in the Elmina Municipality and Amamoma and Kwaprow in the Cape Coast Metropolis.
The house of the Chief Executive Officer of Exim Bank, which is situated some metres away from the bridge, was flooded, with his vehicles getting submerged by the raging water.
At Ankaful, the Prisons Quarters were submerged by the floods and desperate officers residing at the place called for help.
The Director General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, toured some of the affected communities with officials of the organisation.
His entourage included also the Central Regional Minister, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, Head of Local Governance Service, Dr Nana Ato Arthur and officials of the KEEA Municipal Assembly.
In his remarks after the tour, MrAgyemang-Prempeh stated that the flooding and its associated effect was unfortunate.
He explained that the floods in the region so far were not man-made and expressed the need for people to take precautionary measures.
He urged Ghanaians to be careful with their sanitation by desisting from throwing rubbish into drains, including gutters.
He said the country should expect more rains in the coming days and so there was the need for them to take precaution.
Mr Agyemang-Prempeh asked those living in flood-prone areas to move to safer grounds.
He later presented some relief items to be distributed to those affected by the floods.
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The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, in her remarks, said the situation was very worrisome.
She expressed appreciation to NADMO for the swift response by attending to the displaced residents of affected communities.
Meanwhile, the bridge at Jukwa is currently being repaired.
Ghanaian Times witnessed a contractor and his workers feverishly repairing the bridge to ensure flow of traffic on that stretch of the road.
A release by the Ghana Highway Authority on Saturday directed motorists and commuters heading towards Cape Coast from Twifo or vice-versa to use alternative routes such as Cape Coast-Yamoransa -AssinFosu-TwifoPraso roads.
The traffic has been diverted or reversed, and with the help of announcements made by residents in the nearby communities, no motorists got stranded at the location of the broken bridge.
