Following hours of downpour in Accra, a family of three had to grab on to an unsecured door as rainwater swamped their bedroom, soaking their clothes and other belongings.
Auntie Naa, 60, of Tetegu, a suburb of Accra, said she and her two daughters watched as their bed, clothes, and other valuables were flooded throughout the night by the rain.
She told the GNA that the water level was high and that all she cared about at the time was the safety of her children.
Auntie Naa explained that as the situation improved, they cleaned the room partially to free up some space, cleared the debris, and waited till the morning to finish the ‘work.’
On Sunday, her entirely saturated mattress was dried in the humid heat while her children worked hard to recover some of the soaked items.
A man in his 70s was also seen trudging through the floodwaters in the neighborhood with a pail of water, his wife upset.
Many people were relocated when Kaneshie, Mataheko, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Madina, Odokor, Awoshie, and Kasoa were all inundated.
On Sunday, a representative from the National Disaster Management Organization told the GNA that no one had died as a result of the flood.
The capital has long been plagued by unending floods caused by even the smallest amount of rain, prompting many to call on city officials to find a long-term solution to the problem.
Poor solid waste management has been blamed by many people, including specialists.
Mr. George Ayisi, NADMO’s Communications Director, described what happened on Saturday as “flash flooding” that occurs in metropolitan areas owing to a variety of factors, including drainage system blockage.
According to preliminary reports, no lives were lost, and a NADMO search and rescue team was despatched to assist displaced people.
He said there had been a series of consultations on the engineering aspect of the flooding situation in Accra, adding that World Bank consultants were in the country last year in relation to the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project, which aims to halt the trend of flooding in the national capital.
Mr Ayisi added that the project would improve flood risk management and solid waste management in the Greater Accra Region’s Odaw River Basin, as well as provide access to basic infrastructure and services in the targeted areas.
According to the NADMO Communications Director, the regions where worried calls came in during Saturday’s storm were primarily inundated.
He said an evaluation was being undertaken for relief assistance to those affected, and that people who were trapped had been brought to safety in the meanwhile.
During a visit of some of the impacted districts in the capital, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, Minister for Works and Housing, said the haphazard growth of communities, with people continuing to build on waterways without the requisite building permits from the District Assemblies, was a serious problem.
“It is the District Assemblies’ obligation to guarantee that licenses are issued, and when permits are not issued, they should be decisive and pull-down constructions on waterways,” he said.
Since the situation was previously known, Mr Asenso-Boakyi stated that certain serious actions and procedures were required.
He said such action was taken at three levels, beginning with the federal government, which had spent GH450 million on drain construction in the previous five years.
He added a number of other measures were being taken to cope with the situation on the ground, emphasizing the importance of District Assemblies securing permits before erecting structures.
He hoped that the GARID project would put an end to the recurring flooding caused by inadequate sanitation and drainage infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax regulatory compliance.
