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Ghana: Floods cause chaos

The biggest storm in the last 20 years just hit Ghana. An estimated 250 millimetres of rain fell in the first three days of June. The country’s meteorological agency says that the average annual rainfall for the whole month is 221 millimetres.

The sewage and drainage systems in Ghana’s capital, Accra, have not been improved for many years. Systems are basic and easily overflow. In some communities, waterways are blocked by informal structures such as kiosks. As a result, floods during the rainy season cause an increasing amount of destruction and death.

Franklin Cudjoe is the director of the Accra-based IMANI think tank. He says, “[Ghana] hasn’t made any serious arrangements in the event of a flood. It is the epitome of neglect.”

To read the full article, go to: http://www.irinnews.org/report/101630/ghana-hard-hit-by-flooding-once-again [1]

Photo: A family sits outside destroyed homes in Accra’s Nima neighbourhood, a few days after heavy rains flooded the city on 3 June. Credit: Billie Adwoa McTernan/IRIN