- In my view……. Nobody gives a bloody Hoot! Does earthquake get Votes?
Yesternight I met with a good friend of mine after 20 or so years when we last saw each other in Keta Secondary School. I made a few more rounds, got home, readied for bed, then GGGGRRRR! The Earth Tremor started. At least I knew I wasn’t dreaming.
I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. I was in London working for a relief organisation, when the 2004 Tsunami happened. I remember that very night we had to rush to the office, activate a crazy regime of public donations, coordinate other emergency services who had resources to be “First Responders” and head to South-East Asia, and for us, specifically Indonesia and Sri Lanka. I cannot forget. It messed up my Boxing Day Distin with my newfound girlfriend then. So yesterday when the Earth Tremor happened, I automatically switched into “GET READY MODE”.
Bacon and Quaah did some work in 1981 that showed most earthquakes that happen in Ghana, have an originating epicentre in the coastal line of the Western region and the Weija area – which happens to be a junction between two major fault systems namely, the coastal boundary fault and Akwapim fault zone. INTERESTINGLY, WEIJA & KASOA ARE THE MOST HEAVILY POPULATED AREAS PER SQUARE MILE IN GHANA. AND IT HAS A DAM.
In 1986, a study of Earthquake History in West Africa by Ambraseys and Adams (1986) showed that Accra and its Western Regional coast line, was the most active centre on the West African Coastline. DON’T WORRY, WE HAVEN’T SPONSORED ANY RESEARCH ON OUR OWN, TO FIND OUT WHY AND WHETHER THE ACTIVE CENTRE IN OUR SEA BELT CAN BE LOCATED AND ISOLATED… I MEAN, WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW WON’T KILLL YOU ABI?? BUT ANYWAY – WE ARE DRILLING OIL ON TOP OF THEM…. THAT’S THE MOST IMPORRANT THING.
According to the same Seismic Historians above, the 1st recorded earthquake by the Brits was in 1615 – destroying the Elmina Castle and others. The 2nd major earthquake was in December 1636, at Axim measuring 5.7 – Goldmines were destroyed, and miners buried underground. There were many that followed: Minor tremors between 1636 and 1857. The worst of all the earthquakes recorded so far was in June 1939. It measured 6.5 on the Richter scale, many died in the Jamestown area. In 1958, an earthquake in Accra, scale not available. In 1862 an earthquake hit Accra with damage to the Castle and many other buildings measuring 6.5-6.8 on scale. Two minor quakes in 1962 and 1963. According to Paulina Ekua Amponsah of the Geological Survey Department, earth tremors happened on 11 March 1964 (not far from the Akosombo Dam) and 9 February 1969 measuring 4.5 and 4.7 respectively. Three tremors which were felt in all the regional capitals, occurred on 8 January 1997, 14 February 1997 and 6 March 1997 (4.8 approx on the Richter scale).
Many many many almost annual tremors have occurred from 2002 until yesterday. And yet the very simple and obvious questions remain:
(1) Have early warning & detection systems been developed?
(2) Have there been conscious efforts to mitigate damage by preparing citizens on what to do in the event of an earthquake
(3) Is there an active Drill Procedure that will be activated as soon as any such happens
(4) How have the knowledge of the past quakes informed city planning and permit management and population density control
(5) OR AS ALWAYS…. Are we waiting for it to happen first??
In my view……. Nobody gives a bloody Hoot! Does earthquake get Votes?
