Role of Early Warning Systems in Flood Disaster Preparedness: Insights from Asamankese in the West Akim Municipality of Ghana

Abstract

Rampant flood disasters are increasingly causing devastating impacts of human societies. Early warning systems on the other hand are proactive ways through which the impact of flood disasters can and have been reduced in some jurisdictions. This study sought to assess household's awareness of early warning systems and how effective early warning systems are towards reducing impacts of flood disaster is Asamankese Township in the West Akim municipality of Ghana. A survey was conducted with 200 households in the township and the results show that, residents in Asamankese, a rapidly developing center of commerce in the Eastern region of Ghana, demonstrate a high level of awareness of early warning systems. The findings also show that, for early warning systems to be effective, active participation of community members must be encouraged in the design of early warning systems. There was an observed disjunction between dissemination of early warning system and residents' ability to act per the directives of early warnings received. This study hence recommended that, the local authorities, the government and other key stakeholders should engage the community and device holistic strategies that enable residents to take practical actions towards early warnings to ameliorate the adverse effect of floods.