Holistic approach needed to curb tidal wave menace
The country must adopt a dedicated and holistic approach in the quest to permanently curb the periodic tidal wave menace, Mr Daryl Bosu, the Deputy National Director of A Rocha Ghana, said on Tuesday.
He said that would require government to pay attention to high risk places and safeguard them from human settlements.
Mr Bosu said such high risk places also required heavy infrastructural investments to enhance their adaptation capacity and make them resilient to flooding.
Tidal waves are formed by the gravitational forces of the earth, sun, and moon. The gravitational forces of the sun and (to a greater extent) the moon pull on the oceans causing them to swell on either side of the earth (the side closest to the moon and the side farthest from it).
Climate change contributes to sea-level rise because ocean water expands as it warms and higher temperatures cause land-based ice, such as glaciers and ice sheets, to melt.
It is the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place. It could refer to a particular location or the planet as a whole.
Mr Bosu said climate change could affect a nation’s rainfall pattern and in the case of Ghana where farmers largely depended on rainfall, a change in pattern could have serious implications on food security.
He advised government to pay attention to its mangrove ecosystem and safeguard it from destruction.
“Mangroves serve as sponges or buffers that soak up the overflow of tidal waves and prevent flood-related disasters,” he said.
Mr Bosu advised government to give utmost priority to securing Ghana’s shorelines against sand winning, which had rendered the country’s shores almost bare and made it difficult to retain periodic overflows from the sea.
Residents living in some communities along the Keta – Aflao stretch were about a fortnight ago hit by tidal waves, which washed away some homes, leaving hundreds of residents displaced.
A similar incident occurred in June, this year, when five communities; Agavadzi, Salakope, Adina, Blekusu and Amutinu were hit by tidal waves, causing destruction to hundreds of property and displacing more than 1000 residents in the process.