Floods hit Accra again!  4 die, 3000 houses affected… cars swept away

At least four people have died following flooding that occurred after a down pour that hit the Accra metropolis and its environs on Sunday with 3000 households affected and dozens of cars swept away.

While the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) put the number of deaths as one person who lost his life when he was swept away by the ravaging flash floods while he was riding a bicycle at Abokobi, The Ghanaian Times has gathered at least three other people died in the process at Adenta.

These came to light yesterday when the NADMO officials and the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA) led by its Chief Executive, Mr Alfred Allotey Gaisie, toured some flood affected areas in Accra mainly the Odawna Sahara park.

The NADMO Coordinator at KoKMA, Mr Hendrick Noble Kinnah, during the tour said the flooding which occurred after the downpour over the weekend and one which had been persistent for years, was as a result of the overflow of the Odaw River.

According to him, a report on the peren­nial flooding in the municipality and flood-prone areas had been prepared and would be handed over to KoKMA to help address the issue of perennial flooding within the municipality.

For his part, Mr Gaisie assured that KoKMA would find a lasting solution to the situation, which included the construction of a drainage system in the area.

“It is time for us to look at the drainage system and what we need to do about it. Go­ing forward, we have decided to fix this once and for all, either from the Common Fund or our own Internal Generated Fund. We are going to put it in our budget for next year and see how best we can minimise the flooding,” Mr Gaisie said.

Mr Gaisie said that there was a need for KoKMA to collaborate with sister assem­blies to help address the issue of flooding in the municipality, as most of the debris that were collected from the upstream ended at KoKMA.

“If you will notice, most of the drain­age at Alajo and other areas have been constructed. So they have a bigger volume to contain. But here at Odawna, the grass and the earthing materials are always full, so the water does not get space to flow, So we have decided to widen the drainage and concrete it,” he emphasised.

Earlier, the Head of Public Relations at NADMO headquarters, Kate Opoku, said the 48 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces were called in to assist with rescue effort of persons who were trapped in their homes.

“As we speak, we are on the field to assess the extent of damage and know the number of people affected, that would enable us to offer some relief assistance,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Meteorological Authority has warned of more dowpour as the country enters the peak of the first phase of the raining season which starts from April to July.

“There will be frequent rainfall getting to end of May intermittently, but not with the flash scenario experienced on Sunday evening,” Meteorologist at the GMet, Mary Owusu told The Ghanaian Times by phone.

She said the GMet would continue to give Ghanaians weather update to plan their day and avoid being taken by surprise from sub­sequent downpour.

“We give real time weather forecast every day from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 12:00 p.m. with the last daily forecast at 5:00 p.m. to warn the public about what they should expect during the evening up to the next day.

Ms Owusu urged the public to make use of the GMet social media handles including facebook, X, WhatsApp and the website to get an update about the changing weather pattern.

 BY NORMAN COOPER AND BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY

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