The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has earmarked 500 houses at Hodzo, near Ho, for demolition.

This is likely to displace 1,500 people.

A health and safety inspection exercise carried out by NADMO in the area a fortnight ago revealed that the houses, which were mostly built with mud, had developed serious cracks and were falling apart.

“We need to raze them down to protect human lives”, said Mr Prosper Medadues-Badohu, Ho Municipal NADMO Administrator.

He said the affected houses were specifically in the Hodzoga, Alavanyo, Wodome, Achiase, Ve, and Aviefe communities of Hodzo.

Mr. Medadues-Badohu told The Ghanaian Times here yesterday that most of the rickety structures were connected to electricity and that made matters worse.

For instance, he said, one of the houses collapsed, leaving the live electric cable on the floor.

In another instance, an 87-year-old woman was found with her three grandchildren living in one of such structures infested by snakes.

According to him, the woman who was also found to have dislocated her hip and the grandchildren, had been relocated to a temporary apartment and handed over to the Department of Social Welfare to be taken care of.

He said the houses were expected to be demolished in a fortnight by a special task force from the municipal assembly.

NADMO in a similar exercise in August, this year, earmarked 100 houses at Klefe and Ziavi in the Ho Municipality for demolition for health and safety reasons.