The Ghanaian Times reported yesterday that about 600 residents of Adina were on Sunday displaced when the sea swept through their homes and destroyed property after a similar incident in a nearby community, Amutinu, on Saturday when massive volumes of water from the seacrossed the Aflao-Keta road to fill houses.
Other communities like Blekusu were also devastated.
Yesterday, the government, through the Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, called for a stop to sand winning and other activities that expose residents of coastal communities in the Ketu South Municipality to the harsh tidal waves resulting in displacement and destruction of property.
We know that some disasters are natural but human activities can give impetus to them by way of creating situations where their impacts would be worse than they would have been naturally.
Tidal waves are shallow water movements caused by the gravitational interactions between the Sun, Moon, and Earth, causing the rise and fall of the sea.
The experts say the waves are dependent on three major factors, namely wind speed, wind time and wind distance.
It is clear that sand winning can worsen the impact of tidal waves because apart from collecting the sand, it can expose roots of the trees around and eventually die.
We are bringing in this to support the minister’s appeal to people to avoid all activities that worsens the impact of tidal waves on coastal settlers.
With that said, this paper wishes to make reference to the first phase of the coastal protection works totaling 4.3 kilometres, starting from Blekusu as part of measures to curb the devastating incidents in the affected communities, which was started in July 2015 and completed in 2019.
According to the minister, the facility is functioning effectively, protecting lives, livelihoods and properties while reviving fishing activities in the area.
This means that a similar facility provided at other affected places would help stem the devastation of the ravaging sea and bring some comfort to the communities.
To this end the Ghanaian Times appeals to the Ministry of Finance to fast-track the process, but not without the necessary safeguards, to provide funds for the Ministry of Works and Housing to extend the sea defense project to the adjoining coast line to protect the people.
The situation calls for urgency of action because aside their personal properties, the people of Salakope, Agavedzi, Amutinu and Adina are losing their schools, their cemeteries, which they hold sacred, and sources of livelihoods.
While we appeal to the government to do the needful, we appeal to the people once again to heed all the advice that will help in avoiding the devastation the tidal waves brings forth as the necessary processes were put in place for commencement of work on the project.
This means there is the need for the government and the communities to cooperate to address the tidal wave problem.
What is more is that the works, when completed, would protect the beaches and their environs against devastation by the sea and arrest the current environmental deterioration.
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