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THE EASTERN Regional Minister, Dr Kwasi Akyem Appea-Kubi, on Saturday visited some towns in the region devastated by floods to present relief items to those affected by the floods but he did not get a pleasant reception at Asamankese Sabon Zongo where victims rejected the relief items and said they would prefer a good drainage system for the area to help solve the perennial flooding of the area. The minister was surprised to see the mainly youth rejecting the relief items and vented his anger on the new Municipal Chief Executive for West Akim, George Akpalu for not coordinating well. The Sabon Zongo people said whenever there was torrential rain, they experienced flooding because of the low-lying nature of the area and therefore did not need any relief items but instead a better drainage system. They also said the real people who were affected by the floods were not registered for the relief but rather those who were not affected were going to receive the relief items. They accused the NADMO officials in the district of allegedly conniving with party officers in the constituency to register people close to them instead of people who were actually affected by the floods. The minister and his team, which included the regional director of NADMO, Ransford Owusu Boakye, did not have any option but to leave with the relief items comprising bags of rice, maize, plastic buckets and cups and send them to other affected areas. The Minister visited the Fanteakwa district, Atiwa district, West Akim municipality and the Kwaebibirem district where some towns and villages were badly affected by the floods. Five people, mostly farmers, have been confirmed dead in the Atiwa district which was the hardest hit as a result of torrential rains last Monday, causing the Birim river to overflow its banks. Akyem Asunafo, Abomosu, Anyinam, Akrofufu and Ankaase, all in the Atiwa district, were badly affected while Busoso and Osino in the Fanteakwa district, Brekumanso and Asamankese in the West Akim municipality and Kade in the Kwaebibirem district suffered the same fate. Residents attributed the cause of the overflowing of the Birim River to the illegal mining along the banks of the river and in some cases the illegal miners diverting the course of the river to allow them to mine on the bed of the river. Dr. Kwesi Apea-Kubi told Joy Fm the situation was terrible. �Yesterday the Birim River was filled to the brim. It has broken its banks at Atiwa� At Kade the flood has filled nearly about five-to-six size football pitch,� he said. �There was no way anybody could pass through,� the minister added. He said more than 50 houses had been submerged, adding that for a moment, he thought he was in the Afram Plains. The minister advised residents, who were yet to be affected by the floods and were closer to the affected areas, to evacuate as soon as possible. �Those who happen to be near it, please begin to evacuate because the volume of water that is coming down stream is such that if you do not preempt and take action to avert any harmful effect both to human and property, we are going to be all sorry for it,� he said. �Sooner or later, the volume of water is going to reach wherever they live,� he warned. Yesterday, the minister toured other affected areas, with report that 50 houses had been submerged in Akyem Oda. He said two boats from the Field Engineers were dispatched to the crisis spot to ferry people who had been trapped, as well as distribute relief items in areas like Atiwa. Some communities have been cut off completely, with no access to transportation because of the overflow of River Birim which runs through most of these communities.