Severe weather including strong winds and heavy rain affected parts of Ghana from 30 May, 2019 including the capital Accra and parts of Western Region. This is the fourth flood event to hit the country since April this year.
Western Region
On 31 May severe weather hit Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan District in the Western Region of the country. In a 24 hour period to 01 June, 156.9mm of rain fell in Takoradi.
Five people died when their home in the village of Ngyeresia, Essipong district, collapsed under pressure from flood water. In a separate incident, 5 other people died in the same area after a tree was uprooted by strong winds and fell onto their home.
Accra
Flooding was reported in Accra from around 30 May after 78mm of rain fell in 24 hours. Some local news outlets reported that as many as 3 people lost their lives in the flooding and that some people were displaced from their homes, especially in areas along the overflowing Odaw river.
According to the country’s National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), quoted by the Ghanaian Times, 16 people have died in flooding in the city so far this year.
World Bank Support for Flood Resilience in Accra
Flooding in Accra occurs on a regular basis. Many blame the degradation of the city’s rivers and drainage systems. A $200 million project to improve flood resilience in Accra was approved by the World Bank on 29 May, 2019.
Over 2.5 million people in the Odaw River Basin of the Greater Accra Region (GAR) will benefit from improved flood risk management, solid waste management and improved access to basic infrastructure and services in targeted communities of the GAR, under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project.
Asmita Tiwari, Senior Urban and Disaster Risk Management Specialist and Task Team Leader for GARID Project, said:
“About $3.2 billion worth of economic assets are currently at risk of flooding in the Greater Accra Region. The GARID project brings an integrated, multi-sectoral, and long-term approach to mitigate perennial flooding impacts in the region, and will, thus, enable higher economic growth, social inclusion, disaster and climate change preparedness, resilient settlements, and environmental sustainability.”
