Crocodiles, Snakes Invade Homes At Tempane In Ongoing Floods

Ongoing flooding at the Tempane Constituency in the Upper East Region has reportedly displaced reptiles from their natural habitats and put residents under a reptilian siege.

Snakes are slithering into people’s homes, along with quadrupeds, crocodiles according to reports.

Already, some domestic animals have been eaten by the reptiles with residents afraid that humans could soon become victims.

The flood resulted from three weeks of water rush through some communities around the Tamne Dam in the Garu Constituency.

The deluge has also overwhelmed farmlands destroying crops and forcing farmers to abandon their farm work.

Also, school-goers have been forced to stay at home.

The MP for the area, Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba, has sent distress calls to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO).

“We don’t wait for the crocodiles to begin to eat people before we come to look at it. Because of the rising level of the water, [the flooding] is affecting the wildlife that is in the dam site. Most of the houses have been infested with crocodiles, snakes and all manner of reptiles that are in the water. We have an instance where a crocodile entered somebody’s house and ate animals. Here, they are peasant farmers. So, if their crops have been affected, what do they have?” the MP lamented.

“We want to plead with the government, NADMO (the National Disaster Management Organisation), civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations to come to their aid. Most of the farmers, their crops have been submerged in the water. If we don’t solve the issue now, there would be hunger in this part of the constituency.” 

Hon. Akanyariba toured the affected communities, including Garu and Pusiga, on Wednesday.

 She laments that the flooding from the Tamne dam is a side consequence of the construction of the dam to provide irrigation water to farmers.

The construction of the Tamne Dam began in 2016 to irrigate 3,250 acres of land. The handlers of the irrigation dam project reportedly resettled only some houses they thought would be affected in future flooding events and abandoned those being flooded now. 

“We are appealing to the government and the engineers of this project to look at it again. They have resettled other people. But there are some people that still need resettlement. We are crying now because this is the rainy season and the peak of it has not started yet. From now until September ends, it’s going to be serious― very, very serious. The water level is going to rise more than this. We are pleading with the government to resettle those houses that have not been resettled,” the MP said..