The Keta Municipal Assembly says it will open the Kedzi Azizadzi floodgates on Friday, July 3, as part of efforts to ease the severe flooding that has affected the municipality and surrounding communities in recent weeks.

The exercise, announced by the Keta Municipal office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), forms part of a coordinated flood management intervention aimed at reducing water levels and preventing further destruction to lives and property.

Keta Municipal NADMO Director Wonder Setsoafia Deynu said the operation would involve creating an opening through the sandbar between the Keta Lagoon and the sea to allow excess floodwater to drain into the sea.

He explained that the lagoon had overflowed following weeks of heavy flooding, threatening homes, schools, roads, and farmlands across the municipality.

"The critical flood relief operation will be undertaken by technical experts and engineers drawn from the Volta River Authority (VRA), Amandi Community Service Organisation (CSO), the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), and other relevant stakeholder institutions with the requisite expertise to execute the exercise safely and effectively," Mr Deynu said.

According to him, the operation will be supervised by the Keta Municipal Chief Executive, Wisdom Seade, who has been leading efforts to respond to the flooding since it began.

Mr Deynu said the Municipal Chief Executive considers the intervention necessary to protect lives and property within the municipality and neighbouring communities.

He appealed to residents to remain calm and cooperate with officials throughout the exercise.

"The Keta Municipal Assembly has therefore made a passionate appeal to chiefs, elders, youth, women, fishermen, assembly members, and the general public to remain calm and avoid any panic or alarm as the technical team moves in to carry out the floodgate opening exercise on Friday," he stated.

The Assembly also urged fishermen and residents living along the lagoon and the coastline to exercise caution while the operation is underway and to comply with safety instructions issued by the technical team.

Mr Deynu said the decision follows weeks of flooding that have submerged homes, damaged infrastructure, destroyed farms and crops, disrupted schooling, cut off some island communities, and displaced hundreds of residents.

He assured the public that the decision was based on technical assessments and consultations with experts, adding that all necessary safety measures had been put in place to ensure the operation was carried out successfully.