Debris of a building destroyed by tidal waves
Residents of Anlo-Beach in the Shama District of the Western Region continue to bear the brunt of tidal waves which have displaced hundreds of people and washed away many houses.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that the tidal waves became severe on Sunday after a heavy downpour leaving many buildings and personal belongings destroyed.
The residents have therefore called for urgent steps to be taken to bring some comfort to the affected persons.
Some of them called for immediate action either through resettlement or a sea defence wall to control the incessant tidal waves and to help save lives and properties.
One of them remarked “when we were children, we saw that the sea was far away from our homes but now, the sea continues to chase us”.
A resident, Jonathan Ocloo revealed that over the years, the waves have been wreaking havoc in the area and that some schools had to be closed down due to the flow of water at their frontage.
The action of the waves, he added, has left some dead while others were now perching with families upstream.
An Assistant Headmaster of the Anlo Beach Methodist school, Benard Fuga, explained that the school, which had developed some cracks had to be shut down for days due to the inflow of sea water at the compound.
Speaking to journalists, the Shama District Chief Executive, (DCE), Ebenezer Dadzie said, “we are engaging with the opinion leaders to help us kick start the appropriate intervention.”
He disclosed that efforts are underway to resettle the residents and called on the people to corporate with the assembly when the resettlement processes begin.
Assembly Member of the Anlobeach Electoral Area, Samuel Borlu, indicated that pragmatic efforts needed to be taken to restore hope in the residents.
He pointed out that even though lands have been acquired for the relocation of the people, those areas lacked some basic amenities for now.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Shama, Erickson Abekah suggested that apart from resettling the residents, sea defence wall could be considered in the future.
He assured that compensation would be paid for all acquired lands for the relocation of the people.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi