A downpour in the Ho Municipality on Wednesday brought down giant billboards, ripped off buildings and uprooted trees in parts of the Volta Regional Capital.

The rainstorm, which lasted for some 45 minutes, caused severe destruction to some structures within the municipality.

Some school children in the Ho Municipality had to endure the pain of learning under trees on Thursday after the roofs of their classroom blocks were ripped off following a severe downpour on Wednesday evening.

An eatery, close to the Ho Municipal Hospital, was one of the affected places.

Three persons who were at the eatery during the rainstorm were injured after a mango tree fell on the eatery’s roof.

The injured persons are currently receiving treatment at the Municipal Hospital in Ho.

Some houses at Bankoe, a suburb of Ho, also had parts of their roofs ripped.

Several school children in the Municipality on Thursday had to study under trees as the roofings of their classroom blocks were ripped off following the rainstorm.

Some headteachers of some of the affected schools who spoke to the media say, the downpour “ripped off our roofing’s and today, we have to bring the class under the tree”.

At the Presby Basic School in Ho, the mead mistress of the school, Madam Vivian Coffie said, “Basics 1,3, and 6 have been affected, so currently, the children are being taught under trees and the rains have just started.

Madam Vivian Coffie added that, “with the rains setting in, and our children learning under trees, classes will shut if our classes are not roofed immediately”.

Some billboards and signposts also collapsed, posing danger to road users, especially at night.

The MCE for the Ho Municipality, Mr Divine Borson says, checks will be made on the legality of erecting such billboards along the roadside.

“Billboards need a permit, just as any building. Business billboards are to be renewed after some time so we will check if these billboards still have permit to be erected. A lot of such issues are in town and some of these billboards impede road users from seeing ahead, especially at night due to their height”, Hon Divine Borson said.

Addressing the media after touring the affected areas, Mr Divine Borson says, the assembly and NADMO are working together to provide roofing materials to the affected houses and schools.

“We are on a fact-finding mission to see the degree of damage caused by the rainstorm. People have been displaced, schools had their roofs ripped, businesses have been affected and this has been the first of its kind to happen at the Ho Municipality.”

“We are taken unaware as we are not prepared for this. But as problem solvers, we must do everything possible to solve every problem that came with this happening as a result of the rainstorm. We are working to now provide roofing sheets to these affected schools and homes, so they can go back to their daily activities smoothly”.

He further appealed to benevolent institutions to come together and provide a lasting solution to the affected persons.

“We are appealing to well-wishers home and abroad to come to the aid of these people, to come together and join hands with the Assembly to help provide relief items to these affected people, especially the schools and homes. We need their help as government can not do it alone”.