Preventing the rains from causing havoc
Arku Jasmine
Editorials
The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA) has forecast that the country will experience heavy downpours accompanied by storms this rainy season.
The Meteo people are not highly regarded by many of our compatriots because of claims that they have never predicted the weather correctly.
This may be a very wrong perception of the GMA arising largely from the inability of the GMA to provide correct forecast of the weather to guide planning and crop cultivation.
But we can also not dismiss claims that the GMA has not been very accurate with its forecast on a number of occasions in the past.
Not too long ago, the GMA predicted that a severe storm from Nigeria would hit Accra and some parts of the Eastern Region around 10 a.m. and advised residents of those areas to take precautions.
Unfortunately, the prediction failed to materialise and the agency was not spared public condemnation for ‘causing fear and panic among the populace’.
Unable to stand the barrage of criticisms following the prediction fiasco, a Principal Meteo Officer, Mr Muller Tsatsu Siameh, charged critics of the agency to critically read Luke Chapter 12:54 and be abreast of the genesis of weather forecasts and why some weather predictions did not happen.
“It is a prediction. It is a forecast. It has the probability of failure or success,” he explained.
The late President Kwame Nkrumah established the then Meteorological Services Department to aid many of our developmental efforts, such as the aviation and maritime industries and agricultural production.
Whether we like it or not, the GMA has a critical role to play in the country’s development process but our lack of foresight has virtually killed it.
The Daily Graphic calls on the government to retool the GMA, so that it can carry out its mandate of predicting the weather for our daily endeavours.
The rains are here again and may come in many forms. We are likely to experience rainstorm, heavy downpours and floods, with serious ramifications for the country’s development processes.
We know that many of our compatriots will dismiss the role of the GMA in all these processes because of their previous experiences.
So long as we are in the season, the rains will come anyway, sometimes accompanied by windstorms that may cause havoc, including loss of lives and the destruction of property.
The burden of ensuring that for the first time we go through the rainy season without the accompanying destruction lies with all residents of Accra, particularly those in low-lying areas.
We have campaigned for change in the way residents conduct themselves, particularly when it comes to the disposal of the liquid and solid waste they generate in their homes.
Unfortunately, it is characteristic of many residents to dump garbage at any open space or into open drains to choke water courses in the event of heavy downpours.
For more than a decade, Accra has experienced serious floodings, with fatal consequences, during the rainy seasons, but sadly there is no serious intervention to address the development challenges.
At best, the authorities always come up with fire-fighting measures, such as the de-silting of drains a few weeks to the rainy season, without a conscious plan to change the behaviour of residents.
The Daily Graphic thinks that the time has come for pragmatic measures to deal with the perennial flooding in Accra and other commercial settlements.
The heavy rains in Accra yesterday exposed the flaws in the planning of the city, as all low-lying areas were flooded, disrupting the day’s activities.
These flood waters were carrying garbage of all kinds dumped at unauthorised places by residents. The AMA must crack the whip now to get all residents to respect the environmental standards.
The Meteo people are not highly regarded by many of our compatriots because of claims that they have never predicted the weather correctly.
This may be a very wrong perception of the GMA arising largely from the inability of the GMA to provide correct forecast of the weather to guide planning and crop cultivation.
But we can also not dismiss claims that the GMA has not been very accurate with its forecast on a number of occasions in the past.
Not too long ago, the GMA predicted that a severe storm from Nigeria would hit Accra and some parts of the Eastern Region around 10 a.m. and advised residents of those areas to take precautions.
Unfortunately, the prediction failed to materialise and the agency was not spared public condemnation for ‘causing fear and panic among the populace’.
Unable to stand the barrage of criticisms following the prediction fiasco, a Principal Meteo Officer, Mr Muller Tsatsu Siameh, charged critics of the agency to critically read Luke Chapter 12:54 and be abreast of the genesis of weather forecasts and why some weather predictions did not happen.
“It is a prediction. It is a forecast. It has the probability of failure or success,” he explained.
The late President Kwame Nkrumah established the then Meteorological Services Department to aid many of our developmental efforts, such as the aviation and maritime industries and agricultural production.
Whether we like it or not, the GMA has a critical role to play in the country’s development process but our lack of foresight has virtually killed it.
The Daily Graphic calls on the government to retool the GMA, so that it can carry out its mandate of predicting the weather for our daily endeavours.
The rains are here again and may come in many forms. We are likely to experience rainstorm, heavy downpours and floods, with serious ramifications for the country’s development processes.
We know that many of our compatriots will dismiss the role of the GMA in all these processes because of their previous experiences.
So long as we are in the season, the rains will come anyway, sometimes accompanied by windstorms that may cause havoc, including loss of lives and the destruction of property.
The burden of ensuring that for the first time we go through the rainy season without the accompanying destruction lies with all residents of Accra, particularly those in low-lying areas.
We have campaigned for change in the way residents conduct themselves, particularly when it comes to the disposal of the liquid and solid waste they generate in their homes.
Unfortunately, it is characteristic of many residents to dump garbage at any open space or into open drains to choke water courses in the event of heavy downpours.
For more than a decade, Accra has experienced serious floodings, with fatal consequences, during the rainy seasons, but sadly there is no serious intervention to address the development challenges.
At best, the authorities always come up with fire-fighting measures, such as the de-silting of drains a few weeks to the rainy season, without a conscious plan to change the behaviour of residents.
The Daily Graphic thinks that the time has come for pragmatic measures to deal with the perennial flooding in Accra and other commercial settlements.
The heavy rains in Accra yesterday exposed the flaws in the planning of the city, as all low-lying areas were flooded, disrupting the day’s activities.
These flood waters were carrying garbage of all kinds dumped at unauthorised places by residents. The AMA must crack the whip now to get all residents to respect the environmental standards.
