The Oforikrom Municipal Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), William Adine Ayine, has called on residents to play their part in preventing floods.
Speaking on Focus FM 94.3 FM on Monday, June 29, 2026, during the Teknokrat Show, Mr. Ayine said that disaster preparedness is a shared responsibility between government agencies and the public.
He revealed that the Oforikrom Municipal Assembly and NADMO had undertaken several interventions ahead of the rainy season, including dredging drains in flood-prone communities such as Atonsu, Buobai and Appiadu.
According to him, the interventions are already yielding results.
“Before this rain started, Oforikrom NADMO had started preparing for this flooding. We were able to do the dredging, this year we have not recorded any flooding situations in those areas,” he said.
Mr. Ayine revealed that after the recent flooding on the KNUST campus, excavators were deployed to deepen drainage channels, adding that similar exercises would be extended to other vulnerable communities once the required machinery becomes available.
The Municipal NADMO Director also disclosed that the Assembly has intensified efforts to stop developers from constructing buildings on waterways. He blamed unauthorized developments and the sale of wetlands by some traditional authorities for worsening flooding in several communities.
“Once we see you putting up a building on a waterway, we will not allow you. We will demolish it at the foundation stage,” he stressed.
He further alleged that some chiefs contribute to the problem by selling wetlands for development.
“The chiefs are also not helping. They go and sell waterlogged lands to people, and they start filling them with sand. If you stop water here, it will create its own path somewhere else, and that’s why we are seeing flooding all over the country,” he explained.
On emergency preparedness, Mr. Ayine explained that although NADMO does not have permanent evacuation centres, arrangements have been made with churches and other institutions to provide temporary shelter for residents displaced by floods.
He advised residents living in flood-prone areas to evacuate immediately if heavy rainfall persists for 10 to 15 minutes, stressing that protecting lives should always come before protecting property.
“It’s better you leave your property and save your life than to think of saving your property and then lose your life,” he cautioned.
Mr. Ayine also urged motorists and pedestrians to avoid driving or walking through floodwaters.
Addressing poor sanitation, he called on the public to stop dumping refuse into drains and waterways, noting that blocked drains continue to increase the risk of flooding.