Heavy rain over the last few days has caused flooding and destruction in parts of Ghana, including the capital Accra.
Local media said that the country’s National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has confirmed five deaths after flash flooding in Accra late on Sunday 07 April, 2019.
Several areas of the city were flooded, including Abosseyokai, Awudome, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, Kaneshie, Ashaiman, and Alajo. Media in Ghana said that homes were damaged and scores of vehicles were trapped in the water. NADMO said that drainage channels blocked by garbage were a cause of the flooding.
Heavy rain also affected other areas of the country. In Ho Municipality, about 130 km north east of Accra, 200 people were displaced from their homes after a storm and torrential rain caused major damages on Saturday 06 April, 2019. Ghana News Agency (GNA) reported that 38 houses were destroyed
A few days earlier, on 04 to 05 April, heavy rainfall and strong winds in Kumasi, about 200km north west of Accra, caused buildings to collapse. The severe weather left hundreds of people homeless, according to GNA.
The Ghana Meteorological Department has warned of more heavy rain in the coming days as the rainy season sets in.
Warnings for heavy rainfall have also been issued for neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire. Abijan, the country’s major urban centre, recorded 53 mm of rain in 24 hours to 08 April.
Featured photo: Flood in Accra, Ghana, 2006. Photo: Stig Nygaard / Flickr, under CC BY 2.0
