Roofs of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and some private houses were ripped off by a rainstorm that hit Matamanu, a farming community in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region.

Torgbui Tsaku Asidigbe VI, Chief of Matamanu in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said the torrential rainfall accompanied with windstorm caused havoc to some buildings and pulled down high tension electric wires in the town causing total blackout.

He said the situation has forced the Evangelical Presbyterian Church to hold services in the open.

Mr Jacob Desiavor, the Municipal National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), told the GNA that an assessment has been completed and the victims would soon receive some relief items.

He said some 25 houses and 50 people are displaced and are temporarily staying with friends and families.

Some residents who spoke with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) have attributed the rainstorm to the destructive nature of forest cover in the Municipality.

They alleged illegal chain saw operators had invaded the Municipality and are cutting down trees indiscriminately, and appealed to the authorities to clampdown on their nation-wrecking activities.