More than 3,000 people have been displaced in the Volta Region town, and the MP says water levels are still rising even though the rain has stopped locally.
Floodwaters are still rising in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region even though it has stopped raining in the town itself, and the area's Member of Parliament says the water is coming from across the border with Togo.
Thomas Worlanyo Tsekpor, MP for Hohoe, made the point in an interview on Joy FM on Tuesday, 29 September, reported by MyJoyOnline. He said heavy rain falling in parts of Togo is draining downhill into Hohoe, which sits on low ground and therefore collects run-off from the higher land around it.
What the MP said
According to Mr Tsekpor, Hohoe has had rain for a long stretch, but not on this scale. He said the volume arriving from Togo, added to what had already fallen locally, pushed the River Dayi beyond its banks.
"The major cause is the torrential rains in Togo," he said.
He explained that the combined load caused the river to overflow, producing the flooding residents are now dealing with.
The human cost so far
More than 3,000 residents have been displaced by the flooding, the MP said. Of those, over 700 people are currently sheltering in classrooms, which means schools in the affected communities are effectively doubling as emergency shelters.
Mr Tsekpor said homes have been destroyed, with mud houses hit hardest because they collapse quickly once the walls take in water. Residents have also lost personal belongings washed away by the flood.
He appealed for immediate assistance for the affected families, noting that the water had not yet peaked at the time he spoke.
Why the Togo link matters
Hohoe lies in the northern part of the Volta Region, close to Ghana's eastern border with Togo. Because the municipality sits low relative to the surrounding terrain, rainfall that falls outside Ghana's borders can still end up in Ghanaian homes within hours.
That is the practical difficulty the MP is pointing to: local weather reports can show a dry day in Hohoe while the flood risk keeps climbing. Residents who assume the danger has passed once the rain stops may be caught out.
For Ghanaians abroad
For readers in the United States with family in the Hohoe area, the immediate concerns raised by the MP are shelter, lost household property and damaged buildings. People sheltering in classrooms will need bedding, food and basic supplies, and families in mud houses may not have a home to return to once the water recedes.
Mr Tsekpor has not, in these remarks, named a specific relief agency or announced a government support package. What he has done is call publicly for help while the water is still rising.
