The Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Eric Nana Agyeman Prempeh says Burkina Faso will in the coming days open the Bagre Dam.

According to him, interactions with authorities in Burkina Faso indicate that the dam is full, hence the decision.

Speaking to JoyNews on the sidelines of the launch of the ECOWAS Flood Relief Assistance in the Northern Region, Mr Agyeman said NADMO in the coming weeks would deploy a team from Accra to join its regional teams to commence preparatory works ahead of the spillage.

He said the long-term measure for this perennial flooding is the construction of the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam in the Upper East Region which is underway.

Mr. Agyeman Prempeh said the National, Regional and District Directorates of NADMO have begun sensitization in flood-prone communities to get the residents to move to higher grounds.

The NADMO Director-General said one of the challenges NADMO has faced over the years is people's unwillingness to relocate.

“We have always made the appeal. It is difficult, it’s not easy, you tell somebody to relocate and the person will tell you 'these are my farmlands, this is where my animals feed, this is where my grandfathers were buried and I can not leave'” he said.

However, Mr Agyemang noted that some people from these flood-prone areas have relocated and believes that with continuous sensitization many more will move.

He commended traditional rulers in the five regions of the north for the immense role they played in minimizing last year's disaster and appealed to them to do more.

The Northern Regional Director of NADMO, Alhaji Abdallah Abdul-Mumin said 26,635 people were affected last year by the disaster.

He said Nawuni and Sug-tampia in the Kumbungu and Savelugu districts were hit the hardest.

Alhaji Abdallah said about 12 Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies were affected in all. He explained that 130 communities were affected with 1,207 houses destroyed.

According to him, 11,757 acres of farmlands were also destroyed while 1,159 persons were displaced.

Meanwhile, the Northern Regional NADMO Director says the relief items provided by the ECOWAS Commission is important because it will go a long way to support disaster victims.

The ECOWAS Flood Relief Assistance is a humanitarian intervention by the regional body to support flood victims within the member countries.

The five regions of the north will in the coming days benefit from food aid and non-food item.