Ghana in Lightning Zone

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Saturday April 17, 2011.
GHANA IS one country whose location close to the equator makes it vulnerable to lightning according to Aplicaciones Technologicas S.A., a Spanish lightening protection firm.

Pablo Gracia, Marketing and Distribution Development Manager of Aplicaciones Technologicas explained that due to Ghana’s location, the country is more prone to thunder strikes than any other in the West African sub-region.

He said there are at least more than ten 10 lightning strikes per square kilometer every year and this places Ghana in the zone of heavy thunder storms which he described as “very dangerous.”

Mr. Gracia disclosed this to DAILY GUIDE at an exhibition mounted by Elijones Enterprise in Accra to sensitize the public particularly engineers on new lightning protection gadgets developed by Aplicaciones Technologicas.

He said the new technology is suitable for all facilities and buildings and has external lightning protection, overvoltage protection, earthing, exothermic welding and other preventive protections.

Mr. Gracia said even though there are traditional methods of protecting buildings and other structures, the new technology protects larger areas and predicts lightning strikes better adding “in Ghana there is a very high possibility of lightning strikes and we need devices that can predict these strikes ahead of time.”

“This new technology monitors the electricity in the air to prevent death and equipment damage, as well as provide protection for large areas around a structure, not just the structure itself.”

He said in many parts of the world the technology has already been put in operation and is protecting such places as worship centers, financial institutions, airports, military compounds, high-rise buildings, stadia and residential facilities.

Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, MP for Abokobi Madina Constituency and Chairman of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) Council who was at the exhibition said in the light of this revelation, there was the need to take immediate steps to ensure that Ghana’s facilities, installations and buildings are protected from these natural happenings.

“We will do our best to give AT all the legal backing we can, provided that it meets certification standards because I know for sure that this technology will benefit our country,” he said.

“It is easier to destroy buildings than to build them, so if we can protect against destruction, that is a good thing especially as we are challenged by an energy crisis where there are power surges affecting and damaging people’s equipment,” he added.