Back pg. March 08/08
Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
HEAVY winds accompanied by rains hit parts of Accra and other areas of the country last Thursday night leaving in its wake the destruction of valuable properties.
The worst affected areas are Dome, Kwabenya, Awoshie, Kwashieman and Darkuman.
Also affected was Borkorborkor, a suburb of Ablekuma in the Ga West District, where many people were rendered homeless.
Roofs of houses and shops belonging to traders, along the main Dome-St. John’s road, running into several hundreds of Ghana cedis were destroyed by the heavy winds.
The wind also destroyed several sign boards including one belonging to the newly opened Dome branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), as well as canopies of shops, and also uprooted trees.
One of the hardest hit was the Dome Pillar Two taxi rank located near the Dome Railway Crossing, where the wind destroyed a makeshift parking lot for taxis.
The parking lot which also served as a shelter for commuters and drivers alike, had been built close to a waterway and the wind blew off the structure into the water, living the pillars that supported it while an MTN branded container which was also situated nearby was also blown into the water.
As early as 6.30 am, the drivers, not deterred by the destruction, were working while some tried to put the place in order by lifting the container and the roofs from the water way.
The roofings of some parts of the Dome market was also not spared by the winds as they were blown off.
Most of the people whose properties got destroyed were seen busily rebuilding them while others also counted their losses as they could not do anything about them.
At the St. John’s junction, food stuff sellers who had ignored several warnings to vacate the area to make way for contractors working on the Achimota-Ofankor road, were also not left out as water collected in the trenches created by the construction taking place and left them with no other option but to move far away from the main road.
At Borkorborkor, many single and self-contained houses had their roofs ripped off while others collapsed completely, reports Boniface Ablekpe
The fence walls of some houses also collapsed.
Most of the victims were asleep when the disaster struck, forcing them to seek refuge in nearby uncompleted buildings.
The children of one of the victims went missing until the morning when they were found.
According to Mr Joe Apeh, the victim, when the roof of their single roomed house was ripped off he and his wife and the children escaped, in search of a place to lay their heads.
Apparently in view of the darkness the children sought refuge with neighbours without the notice of their parents until they went home on Friday morning.
At the time of going to press the affected victims were busily preparing temporary places of abode.
The Meteorological Services Department has described the rainstorm that hit the northern parts of Accra and other areas of the country as a normal phenomenon, especially as the country moves away from the dry season, reports Stephen Sah
Mr Amos Narh, a Senior Meteorologist, told the Daily Graphic that the occurrence was bound to happen in this transitional period of the year.
He said the rains also affected areas in the Eastern, Central and Western regions and Abetifi, for instance, recorded 46.1 mm, Asamankese 34.2 mm and Assin Fosu in the Central Region, 37.2 mm, while Axim in the Western Region recorded the highest rainfall figure of 55.7 mm.
According to him, what happened was a local development, particularly over the high grounds and forest regions and it was an indication that the country was about to enter the rainy season.
Mr Narh said that hilly areas should also expect the occurrence in the evenings and late afternoons.
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