One dead, seven injured in rainstorm in Amansie West

A Rainstorm that swept through the Amansie West District in the Ashanti Region last Friday night claimed a life, caused injuries to seven others and destroyed many properties.

Among the 11 towns that were hit by the storm in the district were Manso Nkwanta, where many houses had their roofs ripped off, and Manso Dominase, where a 12-year-old Class Four pupil died instantly when a wall fell on him.

Some of the injured persons are currently receiving treatment at the local St Martin’s Catholic Hospital and the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.

More than 800 people who have been rendered homeless are now putting up with relatives and friends.

Destruction

At Manso Nkwanta, more than 50 houses were either completely brought down or had their roofs ripped off.

They include the District Education Office, which had its entire roofing taken off by the strong winds; the Presbyterian Church where the seven injured persons had sought refuge; the Manso Nkwanta D/A Primary School block and the Church of Zion.

Inspection

The Amansie West District Chief Executive (DCE), Nii Lartey Ollenu; the Omanhene of the Manso Nkwanta Traditional Area, Nana Bi-Kusi Appiah II, and officials of the District Office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), visited the victims after they had inspected the extent of damage caused to properties.

The DCE assured the victims that his outfit was seeking assistance for them to enable them to rebuild and re-roof their homes.

For his part, Nana Bi-Kusi Appiah appealed to the assembly to, as a matter of urgency, provide decent office accommodation for the Manso Nkwanta District Education Office to ensure that the educational system in the area was not disrupted.