The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has stated that it lacks the necessary resources to assist all victims if the potential flooding from the Bagre Dam spillage affects communities in the West Gonja Municipality.
The commission’s White Volta Secretariat said the spillage may cause the river to overflow its banks and occupy its flood plains.
It, therefore, advised residents along the river to take precautionary measures to avoid any adverse impact of the spillage.
Speaking on the precautionary measures, Adam Bavug, the West Gonja Municipal NADMO Director, mentioned that although the organisation is working on relocating the residents.
However, he said NADMO does not have enough resources to help all potential flood victims in case the situation worsens.
“For now, we are asking them to leave these dangerous areas. Our top most priority for now is to let these people leave these areas. We are going to monitor those that will be leaving and based on that – if it is 10, 100 or 50 – based on this number whatever support we have, we are going to give to those people.
“If it is not adequate to be able to serve all the people then we will ask for assistance from the district assemblies and head office so they come to our aid. But it is true that we do not have enough resources to be able to help all these people when it hits us hard,” he said.
The spillage of the Bagre Dam takes place either in August or September every year, to prevent destruction to the dam.
This exercise results in flooding in low-lying communities in Burkina Faso and Ghana.
About 35 communities along the White Volta in the Bawku Municipality, Bawku West, Garu, Binduri, Nabdam and Talensi districts are the hardest-hit areas.
In 2023, the spillage and its subsequent floods displaced more than 2,000 residents in the Kpandai district of the Northern Region.