Vice President John Mahama has directed that more relief items be given directly to women and children rather than channelling them through heads of families. He gave this direction when he visited some affected communities in the three northern regions following recent floods and presented relief items to them. He has also appealed to relief coordinators to discharge their duty devoid of partisan interests in the distribution of the items. Over 121,000 people in 26 districts in the three northern regions remain in distress following recent floods that claimed eight lives and left in their wake huge material losses. At least 24 communities are still cut-off from the rest of the country and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) is commandeering aid for distribution to the affected persons. Briefing the media in Tamale on Sunday, NADMO chief, Mr Kofi Portuphy, called the human suffering “excessive” and appealed for further assistance to bring succour to the affected persons whose suffering escalated on September 22 when more rains made their situation worse. He said 924 communities and their farms have either been washed away or submerged by the raging waters due to the swelling of major water bodies in the affected areas. The flooding was worsened by the opening of the Bagre Hydro Dam in neighbouring Burkina Faso, thus inundating thousands of communities sited along the banks of the rivers. Mr Portuphy said at least 5,104 houses have collapsed, 13 public schools destroyed along with 30, 000 acres of farm land. Talking about the inaccessible 24 communities, Mr Portuphy said the military has provided helicopters that are now being used to reach the people. He also noted that although officials of his outfit have used a combination of outboard motors to get to some of the settlements, this had not been so with the 24 because of tree stumps which constitute a hazard to the rotor of the machines. Touching on what caused the death of the 8 persons; Mr Portuphy revealed some of them were swept away as they made attempts to salvage farm and household effects. He added NADMO even had to relocate some of its relief centres as the floodwaters surged but it had been difficult to do same with most of the communities because of their refusal to leave behind personal effects. So far, the NADMO has distributed household wares, food items, lamps, blankets and clothing to affected communities. Of particular concern to NADMO is the possible outbreak of diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery because almost all sources of drinking water have been contaminated. The NADMO chief said the difficulty is being resolved by the provision of water treating tablets to chlorate drinking water. According to him, in view of the sheer scale of the disaster, government has appealed for support from organizations including the UN system and the response so far has been satisfactory. Mr Portuphy noted the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is collaborating with NADMO to provide short gestation seedlings to farmers. Responding to questions as to why it has not been possible for the NADMO to resettle the affected farmers, Mr Portuphy said NADMO, in collaboration with the Red Cross Society, built 300 houses around Nawulu following the 2007 floods but the people refused to occupy them. He, however, commended the Field Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Army which has helped to secure safe passage to the Janga, Kpanusikpe and Kabori communities. Outlining ways to contain future floods, he said NADMO has proposed the construction of dams in addition to building raised highways that could serve as buffer. Source: GNA