Two-hour downpour causes havoc in Accra
Last Thursday night, it rained in some parts of Accra but because most of the residents in the Accra Metropolis were asleep, they did not know how heavy the rainfall was.
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When clouds gathered again Friday morning, many residents, particularly those living in low-lying and flood-prone areas such as the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Odawna, Adabraka Official Town, Darkuman Junction and Mallam Junction were alarmed.
Apparently recollecting the June 3 disaster that claimed over 150 lives, most of the residents and mechanics moved their vehicles and essential items to higher ground.
But when the early rain came down heavily, it did not leave anything in sight, including household items and merchandise in shops in areas that were flooded.
What was not clear at the time of going to press was whether there were any casualties in the downpour.
Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson reports that apart from the eviction of squatters from the Sodom and Gomorrah slum, the flooding of the metropolis exposed the fact that city authorities might not have done much to solve Accra’s drainage challenges.
The Graphic Road, Obetsebi Lamptey Circle, Abossey Okai, Kaneshie, Adabraka and Odawna were badly affected as businesses and vehicular movement grounded to a halt as a result of the flood.
In a striking resemblance of the flooding that occurred on June 3, this year, most of the roads and shops in the affected areas were in pools of water. The dredging of the Odaw River by Engineers and Planners could not even curtail the situation as the river burst its banks and spilled water on the roads, making them inaccessible.
“Self-styled human carriers” were busily making money by carrying people on their shoulders from one side of the road to the other.
The road underneath the Kaneshie footbridge, in particular, turned into a flowing stream and halted all movement on that stretch.
Impassable roads
Yakubu Abul-Jalil also reports from suburbs in the city that pools of water on roads in Adabraka, Kwame Nkrumah Circle and their surrounding areas made them impassable.
In Adabraka, motorists plying the road from the Adabraka Presbyterian Church towards the main Graphic Road were grounded as water inundated the road. Some residents were seen scooping water from their rooms.
Other residents around Adabraka said they had not been affected, explaining that because of past experiences, they had taken steps to prevent the rainwater from entering their homes.
The visible spectacle in the flooded areas were busy residents trying to salvage items from the floodwater that had entered their houses.
Residents of houses near the Odaw River from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to Odawna had moved away to take refuge under any shelter on higher grounds.
Some of the residents in the Kwame Nkrumah area who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they moved out immediately they realised the rain was becoming heavy, to avoid the catastrophe that befell victims of the June 3 disaster.
Almost all the places that got flooded during the June 3 disaster were submerged and nobody wanted to take chances during the latest downpour.
Mechanics at Odawna also moved vehicles away from their workplaces to avoid the floodwater entering the vehicles thereby turning the shoulders of roads in the Adabraka suburb into garages.
The security agencies were also on hand to provide rescue operations in the flooded areas with fire engines making frantic efforts to prevent casualties.
Government’s response
Meanwhile, the government has asked Accra residents to call the number 112, in case of any emergency.
A statement signed by the Minister of Communications, Dr Edward K. Omane Boamah, said emergency services were ready to respond swiftly to any distress calls.
It urged residents in the city and all parts of the country to take note of the persistent downpour and stay away from open drains.
Residents in low-lying areas are also advised to move to higher ground.
Context
A poor drainage system in the country’s capital, Accra and other major cities results in intermittent flooding whenever there are heavy rains.
Daily Graphic’s records show that the Meteorological Services recorded the heaviest rainfall in the capital city in June 1959 with a record of 7.56 inches of rain.