Ghana Meteo cautions citizens on flash floods

The public has been alerted by the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) to the concerning trend of flash floods in the nation and is being urged to pay more attention to the early warning information that the agency releases.

Flash floods are large-volume, abrupt local floods that happen quickly within six hours or less after intense or prolonged rainfall. As a result, it has emphasized how important it is for citizens of Accra and other regions of the nation to pay close attention to the GMet’s projections in order to lessen the likelihood of flooding brought on by the anticipated heavy rainfall.

The interim Director-General of GMet, Dr Eric Asuman, who made the appeal, underlined that the situation whereby members of the public minimized rainfall predictions was risky and may increase the impact of floods.

“Members of the public need to be more cautious now because the rains will be intense and we can only save ourselves when we have information; and that is why we need to take the forecasts from GMet, monitor it closely, and take the necessary precautions,” he stated.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Dr. Asuman issued the warning during yesterday’s inaugural session of a regional workshop on the Urban Flash Flood Forecasting System (UFFFS), which was arranged for the six Volta Basin countries in Accra.

Experts in flood management from meteorological agencies in the six Volta Basin nations Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Cote d’Ivoire met at the workshop.

The public should prepare for increased rainfall as the main rainy season peaks this year in June and July, the interim director-general of the GMet emphasized.

He stressed that members ignored such warnings at their peril and in order to stay safe, people would have to always heed the forecast and warnings, and take precautionary measures.

“About a week or two ago, GMet gave warning about rainfall and possible flooding, but it took a little bit of time before it hit Accra; and this was because the speed slowed down at a point.

But people thought it was not going to happen, but it came around 4p.m. and caused a lot of trouble to people. We should respect these warnings and take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves,” he stated.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com