The Sogakope Bridge is at risk of getting flooded as a result of the Akosombo Dam spillage.
Floodwaters from the ongoing spillage have climbed up to almost the top of the pillars of the 650m-long fixture.
The Ghana Navy has also been deployed to clear the weeds impeding the flow of the water beneath the bridge.
The notable piece of infrastructure connects Sogakope to Sokpoe over the Volta River.
Management of the Volta River Authority (VRA) is asking residents to “expect more spillage” as engineers at the hydro dam say they cannot tell when the exercise will come to an end.
The Volta River Authority (VRA) commenced the spillage of excess water on September 15, due to rising levels of the Akosombo and Kpong hydro dams.
While the current inflow to the reservoir is pegged at 400,000 cubic feet of water per second, the authority says it is spilling just about 183,000 cubic feet of water, and they cannot ascertain when the spilling exercise will be over.
This was revealed by the Deputy Chief Executive of the VRA in charge of services, Ing. Kenneth Arthur, when the Deputy Minister of Energy, Herbert Krapah, led a government delegation to assess the level of spillage.
Meanwhile, thousands of people living along the Lower Volta Basin have been displaced with loss of property running into millions of cedis.
So far, nine districts have been affected by the spillage.
Some of the hardest-hit districts include the South, Central, and North Tongu districts in the Volta Region.
Thousands are evacuating to safety.
Many of them are still counting their losses, with others swimming their way towards salvaging what they can as the spillage continues.
The Volta River Authority (VRA) says it alerted the residents along the lower Volta Basin ahead of the move.
But desperate scenes of unprepared evacuations and destruction indicated that was not enough.
Speaking on Joy FM, a resident of Mepe, Felix Ayiku lamented the mode of communication with the residents has been nothing to write home about.
“You will see a press release on social media which is not very good for the local people, because, a lot of people don’t even have smartphones, the old people don’t understand how these things work,” he said via Joy SMS on Thursday, October 12.
“Social media is not the best way. There are letters flying around but [only] we the young people see them. We saw it, we tried to [understand] what they really mean.”
According to him, about 2,000 households in his community have been inundated by floodwater.
He is saddened adding “We need adequate education so people can be fully prepared for this kind of events.”
“It’s really sad… I saw old people, aged people struggling to get water to drink.”
myjoyonline.com
