A week after the government of Ghana marked its worst natural disaster which claimed over 150 lives last year, torrential rains on Thursday and Friday has left large parts of capital city Accra in terrifying floods.
No human casualties have been reported yet after the two days rain, but reports say residents, especially those around the center of the capital, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Nungua, Teshie, parts of Kaneshie, Odawna, Dzorwulu, Asylum Down, Awoshie, Tema and surrounding areas have lost some properties.
The rain, which began Thursday, is likely to persist, the Ghana Meteorological Agency has warned.
In a statement, the government asked the general public to avoid flowing water, move from lower ground to higher places if need be and call emergency lines.
Officers of the 48 Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces were called in to rescue trapped flood victims.
Years of delays and repeated failures to implement and improve sewage and drainage systems in Ghana’s capital, Accra, has led to increasingly damaging and deadly flooding during the country’s annual rainy season.
Last year storm, which led to an explosion at a petrol station, killed more than 150 people and affected thousands of others. It is just the latest example of the country’s failure to properly institute disaster risk reduction management.
Residents of most parts of the capital are living in fear that the events of last year could recur.