Disaster averted
The timely intervention of a caretaker of a building in Kumasi prevented a disaster that could have caused the death of about 12 residents.
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The estate house attached to a storey- building near the TUC building on the Ahodwo-Santasi road collapsed as a result of erosion. The building is situated in the path of a stream.
The caretaker of the house, Mr Seidu Adams, who briefed the Daily Graphic, said about two weeks ago, it was detected that portions of the foundation of the house were gradually being washed away by the stream.
He said the problem was further compounded by recent rains, especially one that occurred over the last two days.
He added that last Sunday around 5 p.m., it became evident that the building was going to collapse.
Sensing danger, he asked all the tenants to move out of the house. He also took his three children and his wife to his relatives living nearby.
“At about 8 p.m. when we had gathered to investigate where the noise was coming from, we saw a portion of the building falling down”.
The Ashanti Regional National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Aninkorah Sie, who was in the neighbourhood to assess the situation, blamed people who stubbornly refused to stop building on watercourses for some of the problems bedevilling the city.
He gave an assurance that his office would liaise with the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to pull down the building which was hanging dangerously.