Thousands of people in Ghana’s Volta Region were left homeless after huge tidal waves swept through their homes.
Most of the victims mainly children and women in the Keta municipality had their homes destroyed by the storm surge.
They have since Sunday been left stranded as the tsunami-like phenomenon destroyed schools and churches.
“In Keta district, we have 1,557 individuals displaced and 239 houses affected. In Anloga district, we have 1,394 displaced and 134 houses affected, and in Ketu South we have 1,027 displaced and 149 houses affected.”
Many of the victims have described the situation as unbearable and want immediate intervention from the government.
“We are homeless and this has been a worry to us for years now, we need the government’s urgent attention,” some residents said.
This is the third tidal wave this year, but it’s the heaviest
Waves unearth bodies
In some of the affected areas, the tidal waves unearthed corpses out of their graves. Community leaders have been forced to re-burry exposed corpses to avoid any kind of contamination.
Ghana’s Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has disclosed that the Finance Ministry will allocate funds for the construction of a second sea defence wall over more than 8km in the area.
Ghana’s coastal communities are constantly facing giant waves… And as the storms are kind of intensifying right now, I believe will get even bigger and more destructive. Be ready!
What is a tidal wave?
Tidal waves are the largest oceanic waves on our planet and are formed by the gravitational forces of the earth, sun, and moon.
The gravitational forces of the sun and (to a greater extent) the moon pull on the oceans causing the oceans to swell on either side of the earth (the side closest to the moon and the side farthest from the moon).
As the earth rotates, the tides go ‘in’ and ‘out’ (the earth moves but the bulge of water remains in line with the moon, giving the appearance that the tides are moving when it is, in fact, the earth that is moving). [France24, MaraviPost]
