Stay away from flood waters — NADMO cautions youngsters
Children should not play or walk through floods to prevent accidents during the rainy season, the Director of Communication of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr George Kwadwo Ayisi, has advised.
He said, “you can be carried away by the floods, fall into a pit or uncovered drains and gutters if you do that.”
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In an interview in Accra, the Director of Communication of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr George Kwadwo Ayisi, has advised youngsters not to play or walk through flood waters to prevent accidents during the rainy season.
“You can be carried away by the floods, fall into a pit or uncovered drains and gutters if you do that”, he cautioned.
In an interview, Mr Ayisi said the Ghana Meteorological Agency had warned that there would be heavy rains this year.
“The volume of water on the streets and in the drains will be high and swift and it is important for young people to stay safe and away from floods”, he admonished.
He said young people and adults should avoid crossing gutters or drains when it was raining because there was the likelihood of slipping and falling into the gutter and be carried away by flood waters.
When caught up in the rain in school, for instance, Mr Ayisi advises children to stay in their classrooms and not run around on the compound or rush to go home.
“Please stay in school under the protection and care of your teachers until the rain stops so that your teachers can guide you to move out. If you are out of home, find a safe place and wait till the rain subsides” he said.
Mr Ayisi entreated parents to switch off all electrical gadgets and pull out the plugs, especially when the place gets flooded to prevent electrocution and move to safer grounds.
He noted that since thunder and lightning accompanied rains, children should avoid playing with phones and other electrical gadgets because they could be electrocuted.
He said young people who lived in flood-prone areas should, with the help of their parents, move to higher grounds when it floods and that valuables that needed to be salvaged could be placed at a higher place in the room before moving out.
Mr Ayisi said it was not advisable to eat or drink anything that had come into contact with flood waters because they contained a lot of impurities and could, therefore, cause diseases.
He cautioned young people to stop throwing rubbish in gutters and drains adding that solid waste clogged the water ways and caused flooding.
He suggested that parents who lived in flood-prone areas should keep enough food at home so that if the rains continued for a long time, they could have something to eat and not be forced to go out looking for food.
The director appealed to members of communities to assist children with disabilities to get to safer places when they get caught up in the rains.