Earthquakes can still occur in Northern Ghana despite being a low-risk area - GGSA boss warns

The Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) has warned that Northern Ghana could still suffer a devastating earthquake despite being one of the low-risk earthquake zones in the country.

The Director General of the GGSA, Issah Kuuwan Mwinbelle who issued the warning said that even though Northern Ghana is located near the equator and thus has a very low risk of suffering an earthquake, it could still be hit with one as earthquakes can strike in any part of the world at any time.

He added that Northern Ghana could also be hit with strong and deadly waves of nearby earthquakes and thus, the need for the people living in the area to prepare adequately.

Issah Mwinbelle was speaking to GhanaWeb in Tamale on the sidelines of a day’s workshop for selected journalists in the Northern Region on the activities of the GGSA and earthquake-preventive measures.

“It might be true that the Northern part of Ghana does not experience earthquakes but it doesn’t completely rule out the fact that earthquake events can occur, sometimes the extended effects of earthquakes could also hit this part of the world", he explained.

He said there was a need for the country to be concerned about the frequency of recent earth tremors that have hit various parts of the country and thus, prepare adequately for future occurrences.

He said there was a need for the country to begin constructing earthquake-resilient structures as part of preparations for a possible earthquake shortly.

“Over the years, you see that the frequency has been increasing and that is the worry and that is what we should be concerned about and begin to take steps and measures which would help us to be more prepared to construct structures that can withstand these earthquake events should we have a major event happening in the country,” he noted.

Even though Ghana is not noted for earthquakes, the coastal areas of the country have been frequently hit by tremors, with the last tremor occurring in the country on December 12, 2022.

The 4.0 magnitude tremor had its epicenter around Gbawe in the Greater Accra Region.

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