By Evans Worlanyo Ameamu, GNA
Keta (VR), June 29, GNA – The National Ambulance Service (NAS) Station at Keta in the Volta Region has issued a Rainy Season Medical Safety Alert and cautioned residents in the Municipality and surrounding communities, to take urgent precautions to ensure their health and safety during the season.
The Ambulance Service warned that heavy rains could lead to a range of life-threatening incidents including flooding, drowning, electrocution, and outbreak of communicable diseases, that had historically plagued low-lying coastal area like Keta during periods of heavy rainfall.
Mr Emmanuel Kordzo Tordzro, the Senior Emergency Medical Technician (SEMT) of NAS, Keta, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, advised the public to avoid walking or driving through floodwaters under any circumstances, and stressed that what may appear to be shallow, still water could conceal strong currents, open drains, or submerged hazards capable of causing fatal injuries or drowning.
“Parents and guardians are to always keep children away from drains and flooded areas during this rainy season, as children are among the most vulnerable groups during flooding events. Particularly in coastal communities where drainage infrastructure is often overwhelmed by heavy downpours,” he said.
On matters of public health and hygiene, he urged residents to drink only clean, treated water and to maintain high standards of personal and domestic hygiene, and warned that stagnant floodwaters could create ideal conditions for the spread of cholera, typhoid, and other water-borne diseases that may rapidly escalate into community outbreaks if not contained early.
Mr Tordzro further advised that anyone suffering from injuries, breathing difficulties, incidents of drowning, or sudden unexplained illness should seek immediate medical attention without delay, while emphasising that timely intervention by trained emergency medical personnel would significantly improves survival outcomes in such cases.
“I want to also advise residents within Keta and beyond to report and stay away from fallen electrical cables and poles, which poses an extreme risk of electrocution during and after heavy rains, particularly in areas where overhead power lines are vulnerable to damage from strong winds, fallen trees, or rising floodwaters.”
Mr Tordzro said that for all emergencies, the NAS directed members of the public to call the national emergency number 112, which connected callers directly to Ghana’s emergency medical response network, and various Municipal and District office numbers for direct assistance.
He mentioned that the National Ambulance Service in Keta has consistently called on the public to take responsible action during health emergencies, including previously activities that educated residents to refrain from transporting sick individuals in public transport vehicles to help mitigate the spread of communicable diseases.
He warned that prank calls to emergency lines are illegal and could delay life-saving assistance to those genuinely in need, reiterating the NAS motto: “Timely Care Saves Lives.”
GNA
Edited by: Maxwell Awumah/ Christabel Addo
June 29, 2026