Adaklu mudslide leaves 352 acres of farms submerged

A mudslide at Adaklu in the Volta region has left 352 acres of farmlands submerged.

Joy News Fred Quame Asare said 192 residents from Adaklu Helekpe, Awamaviofe and Sikame risk going hungry for months after the Sunday evening incident.

They had their maize, cassava, palm, plantain, cocoa and other farms sited just below the mountain submerged in the mud.

The Chief of Adaklu Helekpe, Togbe Krakani narrated the incident to Joy News.

"About 7:00 pm we heard a loud noise on the mountains three times and the ground shook, we had no idea what was happening. After about an hour we saw water streaming down to the community from the mountain." 

"I quickly informed community members to be careful because we didn't know where the water was coming from. It was at dawn that we saw a huge volume of mud from the mountain in the community in about 5 trenches". 

"Our crops were destroyed on the farms, some rocks were moved and some huge trees on the mountain were also uprooted."

A resident, Agnes Homadzi, whose farm was destroyed said "we have to go to the market to get food for our households" and asked for government aid.

Residents suspected it might be a volcanic eruption. Elders in the town say a similar explosion occurred about 50 years ago but the impact on human settlement was minimal.

They are calling on the government and relevant organization to quickly come and assess the site to ascertain the cause of the explosion and further advice on what to do.

Huge rocks have shifted from their original positions and hanging precariously on other rocks, Joy News Fred Asare reported.

He said the rocks pose a danger to residents.

The Presiding Member of Adaklu District Assembly, Fred Agbogbo, suggested that the communities should be relocated from the foot of the Mountain to avert any misfortune in the future.

The report of the mudslide in Adaklu comes just weeks after the disasterous mudslide in Sierra Leone claimed over 400 lives and turned a whole community into a grace yard.

 

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