Media CenterCRS Responds to Flood Disaster in Volta Region of Ghana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Dakar, Senegal:
Nanette Gendry
Catholic Relief Services
[email protected]
+221 772 329 474

Baltimore, Maryland:
Brittany Wichtendahl
Catholic Relief Services
[email protected]
(757) 748-5003

ACCRA, GHANA, Nov. 14, 2023 – Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and local partners stand ready to provide immediate relief assistance to over 25,000 people after a controlled spillage of two dams by the authorities to safeguard their structural integrity caused a devastating flood in southeastern Ghana. Assistance is likely to include emergency shelter, clean drinking water, cash transfers for food and other essentials, medical supplies, access to functioning health insurance and psychosocial support.

“The spillage from the dams into Lake Volta has now been halted, but the devastation remains,” said Daniel Mumuni, CRS’ country representative in Ghana. “Thousands of people have already lost their homes, crops, and livestock because of the flooding. There could be disease outbreaks and devastating long-term impacts on hunger as 200,000 hectares remain covered by water.”

Given the scale of the disaster, the current level of assistance from the government and other partners has been insufficient to meet the overwhelming needs of the affected population, which include food, shelter, clothing and safe drinking water.

Some of the displaced have found shelter in ‘safe havens,’ established by the government in schools and churches in the districts of Central Tongu and North Tongu, where the flood impact was severe, and many communities were inundated by the overflowing Lake Volta.

“Thankfully, the safe havens are providing people with some relief,” Mumuni said. “But the longer families are removed from their homes, the longer their children are missing school, and the larger the impact gets on their lives.”

The flooding has also disrupted the affected areas’ water and power supplies, health services and education. It poses environmental and health risks like waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery and typhoid.

The Volta Lake, which usually absorbs the excess water from the Akosombo and Kpong dams, has overflowed due to the magnitude of water spilled from the dams. Inflows from the Bagre dam in Burkina Faso earlier this year, and persistent rains led to the water levels of the two dams rising beyond safe limits. The last time there was a dam spillage was in 2010. Access to the more than 80 flooded communities has been difficult, as many roads have been submerged or destroyed by the floods. Boats are currently the only means of transportation for rescue and emergency aid.

“We have just concluded a rapid assessment of the situation together with the local diocese and other stakeholders. Though the spillage has stopped, and the flood water is gradually receding, it is still difficult to reach people,” Mumuni said. “The situation is critical. We need more support to reach the most vulnerable people and prevent any outbreak of disease.”

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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding. For more information, visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org and follow Catholic Relief Services on social media in English at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube; and in Spanish at: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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