Families stranded as Mamprobi Police barracks flooded in heavy rains
Heavy rains have once again flooded the Mamprobi District Police Headquarters and Barracks, where scores of policemen’s families have been bailing out their homes and kitchens since 2 A.M. Tuesday morning.
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The five-building complex was reduced to a freshwater pond overnight. This morning, the National Fire Service joined the police in a coordinated effort to clear the gutters forming the perimeter of the flood zone. As police in rubber wading boots cleared out the drains with hand tools, families marooned on the second floors of their homes looked over their flooded courtyards with concern.
First responders were joined by a confab of regional Police commanders and Estates Department officials, including the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan.
“When the IGP heard that his barracks were in trouble, he swooped down right away”, said Super Intendant Cephas Arthur, Public Relations Officer. “He always takes a personal interest when it comes to the welfare of his personnel.”
Super Intendant Arthur added that since the flooding had not yet reached “an alarming level”, there were not currently plans to evacuate any of the families. He added that the police and fire personnel stood ready to respond to the needs of the barracks and surrounding homes if the situation became an emergency.
Shallow funds
Public Works employees were present at today’s scene to help address the immediate flooding. As for future plans, Deputy Chief of Police and Director of Projects Sika Nartey explained that the Mamprobi barracks sit on a shallow crater that is in sore need of refilling.
“There was a similar situation about five years ago“, he said, noting that the level of the road is more than a foot higher than the barracks grounds, causing the gutters to regularly overfill.
“After the rains subsided [that year], we developed a proposal to fill in the whole compound in with gravel, but it couldn’t go through. The money required [was a problem]”, he explained.
A seasonal blight for police families
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“Every single rainy season, we experience this problem, but this has been the worst,” said Chief Inspector Anokye, a policeman of 38 years who has lived in the Mamprobi barracks with his family for a decade. The area between his building and his neighbors was completely mired in standing water. The wooden door to his wife’s kitchen showed a water mark nearly two-feet high.
“We were all working since this morning,” said Vivian Ocloo, a self-described “barracks girl,” who is the grown daughter of another Chief Inspector living within the compound. She explained that the barracks represent a close community of policemen and their families, who rally each year to address the poor drainage around their homes.
“We’re all tight here. My brother and my sister, they both live here, they were draining since early in the morning. I stayed home from work today to see if I could help.”
“Perhaps by nightfall, it will be improved,” she added.
