Raging sea waves ravage Ekon-Residents lose fight to nature
Ms Afua Amandziameehu often sat along the beach years past and admired God’s beautiful creation. Now she looks at the sea with anguish and as a raging monster on the loose.
She has lost her home to the raging sea waves and hates the sea for that.
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“My husband and I were sleeping when we heard a loud noise of something crushing. We woke up and half of our room was gone”, the pain of her loss still evident on her face as she narrated her story.
Devastation
The ancient coastal community of Ekon in the Cape Coast Metropolis of the Central Region of Ghana is being washed away by tidal waves.
Slowly but surely, the tides sweep away the sand beneath the houses along the beach until they come tumbling down.
About 30 houses have been washed away by furious sea waves, leaving many displaced.
Many other houses stand waiting for their end.
The sea has been raging for years but has increased its pace in the last three years.
Properties have been lost leaving only the memories of homes families grew in now washed away by the sea.
At the shores lay broken walls, vestiges of what once served as their homes.
The rest of the homes stand on the washy sand beneath and the strength of the faith of the people that help would come soon.
Kwesi Essien and his brother Ato lost the house they lived in with their parents. “We lost the house we all lived in. Now I live in Amosima, Kwesi Essien stated.
Egya Kobina Annan also has a house being threatened by the sea.
“My house is just waiting to collapse and I know it. We have evacuated the building and taken the roof off.
It’s just a matter of time,” he stated.
Memoires
Life at the coastal community of Ekon was not this frustrating.
The Assembly Member for the community, Mr Benjamin Wilberforce Eshun, who is middle aged and has lived in the community all his life, spoke about the beautiful old days.
“The shore was beautiful. Growing up, we ran from behind the houses into a stretch of coconut trees before we dived into the sea. It was a long way into the sea from the houses,” he reminisced.
There were buildings here and people lived in them,” he said pointing to a stretch along the shore.
“Now no coconuts, they are all gone with the sea”, he said.
Mr Kwesi Essien said he had a shed at the shore which served as a cinema. Now all those remain stories to be told.
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Climate change
The effect of climate change and the rising sea levels have turned a friendly sea into a home-eating monster.
The negative effects of sand winning and stone picking have worsened the effect of melting glaciers and warming ocean waters on the once lively coastal town.
Ms Amandziameehu does not know much about climate change but she knows that the sea is coming home.
She stood at the shore and showed me where her home once stood. With her five-bedroom house gone, Ms Amandziameehu now stays in her family house close by which is also being threatened by the waves.
The Sea Defence
The residents are pleading that the sea defence from Kafodzidzi through Elmina to Cape Coast be extended to Ekon and the nearby communities to save the communities from being wiped away.
They said if nothing was done soon, the road and other infrastructure might even be washed away.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive for Cape Coast, Mr Ernest Arthur, also expressed concern about the situation at a recent interaction with the press, saying that almost every week, a building collapsed.
Urgent attention
The elders of the community are worried and have asked for urgent attention to salvage the situation.
Opayin Kwesi Mensah said the devastation affected everyone in the community.
“We are all worried. Everyone has one member of the family or a friend affected.
This is worrying for us all and we need serious attention.
“Residents look on as homes they love dearly gradually slip through their hands; they feel helpless as they lose the fight against nature,” he added
Relocation
They have called for urgent attention to safeguard their homes and also for those who have been displaced to be relocated.
Before the sea defence comes, the residents must realise the importance of keeping their shores clean and also stop sand winning and stone picking.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 calls on governments to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact.
The government must therefore speed up measures to combat effects of climate change into national policies and help keep people safe.