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Health fears after Ghana floods Flood misery hits arc of Africa
(about 16 hours later)
Flooding from torrential rain has devastated large areas of northern Ghana, and left thousands of people vulnerable to waterborne diseases. An estimated one million people across Africa have been hit by prolonged rains which have destroyed crops, burst dams and left dozens dead, officials say.
At least 20 people have died in the floods, which have submerged land which produces food for the entire country. Parts of Ghana have been declared a disaster zone, while on the other side of the continent, many thousands are now homeless in Ethiopia and Uganda.
Almost 400,000 people have lost their homes, a spokeswoman from the Ghana Red Cross told the BBC. The UN said the floods could lead to locust infestations and outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera.
Parts of northern Togo have also been affected and 34,000 people have been displaced there, the government says. The flooding and torrential rain have brought chaos to at least 12 countries.
At least 20 Togolese have also been killed, while 101 bridges and 46 schools have been destroyed. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said 500,000 people had been affected in West Africa and a further 500,000 in Sudan, and the numbers were rising.
The government says it is sending food aid to the region. Health charities have warned that many areas are in urgent need of food, shelter and medicine.
Dam opened In some areas the flooding is the worst in many years.
"The situation is dire," said Benonita Bismark, from Ghana's Red Cross Society 'Dire' situation
She said the situation had been made worse when a dam in neighbouring Burkina Faso was opened, releasing more water into the Volta River, which flows in Ghana. In Uganda, where at least nine people are reported to have died, government minister Musa Ecweru said the situation "borders a crisis".
There have already been some cases of cholera, she told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. "Several communities have been cut off and we cannot access them," he said.
She said that most of those affected had lived in mud buildings which had collapsed. Some villages and communities have now been totally wiped off the map of Ghana George Azi AmooGhana's national disaster management co-ordinator
Some villages in Ghana can only be reached by canoe, making it difficult to deliver aid. In Ethiopia, one of the worst-hit east African nations, deaths have been reported and a massive food aid programme has been set up after flooding hit almost 200,000 people.
The Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions have been declared a disaster zone by the government. In West Africa, Ghana has been hit particularly hard, with at least 20 people killed and about 400,000 people made homeless.
Upper East region minister Alhassan Samar said malaria and cholera could take hold and mosquito nets were being handed out. The floods have submerged land which produces food for the entire country.
People are being urged to boil their drinking water. President John Kufuor has declared the north of his country a disaster zone.
Sudan has seen some of its worst floods in living memory
Benonita Bismarck, from Ghana's Red Cross Society, said the situation was dire and cases of cholera have already been reported.
George Azi Amoo, co-ordinator of Ghana's disaster management body, said the floods had destroyed farmland, livestock and infrastructure.
"Some villages and communities have now been totally wiped off the map of Ghana," he told the BBC's Newshour.
In neighbouring Togo some 34,000 people have been displaced, at least 20 killed and the infrastructure has suffered major damage.
Officials in northern Rwanda said 15 people had died there and 500 homes had been destroyed since Wednesday.
Dozens are also reported dead in Sudan, which has been suffering some of the worst floods in living memory.
Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua told the AFP news agency: "We have activated our disaster response and the government and aid groups are providing food, shelter and medicine to those affected by the floods."
Niger, Nigeria, Liberia, Mali and Burkino Faso are among other countries affected.
The BBC's Mary Harper says there is growing concern that unless emergency assistance reaches people quickly, they will become increasingly vulnerable to waterborne diseases.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs also warned that conditions were "ripe for an infestation" of locusts.