The death toll in the flooded communities of the Northern Region has now risen to 10, following the spillage of the Bagre Dam in neighbouring Burkina Faso.
Six of the dead were found in the flooded White Volta tributaries at Dalung in the Kumbungu District, while two other bodies were also retrieved from the river at a point near Daboya.
Earlier at Sariba, near Kpasenkpe in the West Mamprusi District, two bodies were also recovered from the water.
According to the assembly member for the Singa Electoral Area in the Kumbungu District, Mr Abukari Alhassan, most health centres in the area had run out of drugs but as a result of the flood, officials were unable to cross the river to pick their supplies.
He also claimed that farm produce was going waste, while food stocks were getting depleted in homes because of the inaccessibility of those affected communities from neighbouring towns and Tamale, the regional capital.
Mr Alhassan expressed fears that there could be more victims of the flood, due to the high volume of water in the river.
He also appealed for an immediate intervention to save lives and property since the water level was rising.
Attempts to speak to National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) officials were unsuccessful.
Background
The spillage is carried out annually by the Burkinabe authorities to rid the Bagre Dam, which is the biggest in that country, of excess water. The dam contains seven billion cubic metres of water and is used for irrigation and the generation of hydro power.
Over the years, the spilled water has been destroying farms, homes and other property in parts of the Northern and Upper East regions.
In 2007, the government declared a state of emergency in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions because of the spillage which affected more than 300,000 people and caused the death of nearly 50 people.
Some 35,000 houses, 1,500 kilometres of road and1,000 hectares of crops were destroyed
Areas that are usually affected by the spillage include the Northern, Upper East, Eastern and the Volta regions.
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