Blocked waterways, illegal dumping among causes of Accra flooding – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has attributed the devastating flooding in Accra to blocked waterways, illegal dumping of refuse and record rainfall, warning that government will remove structures obstructing drainage channels.

The remarks followed an aerial inspection of flood-hit communities on Sunday afternoon as parts of the capital continued to grapple with severe flooding.

On Monday, torrential rains worsened the situation, with four confirmed deaths, submerged homes and major traffic disruptions reported across the city.

The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has warned that heavy rainfall is expected to persist through Tuesday morning, with a 95 percent chance of precipitation. Earlier on Monday, GRIDCo and the Electricity Company of Ghana temporarily shut down key power substations at Mallam and Achimota to protect the electricity network from rising floodwaters.

President Mahama said the volume of rainfall recorded was among the highest in recent years, noting that approximately 140 millimetres of rain fell over Accra.

“There are many issues to the flooding in Accra. There’s climate, but there’s also the engineering and the man-made causes,” he said.

He explained that increasing rainfall over the past three years has placed enormous pressure on the city’s drainage systems, while rapid urban development has narrowed the natural paths through which streams flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

The President, however, stressed that human activities had significantly worsened the situation.

“Dumping garbage in the drains, putting all kinds of items in the drains after we finish creating waste instead of sending it to the appropriate place” has contributed to the flooding, he stated.

He also disclosed that the aerial assessment revealed numerous illegal dumping sites on wetlands.

“People have gone to create waste dumping grounds. They fill the wetlands and later sell the land to people to build on,” he said.

Mr Mahama announced that district assemblies, working with the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources, would identify all structures obstructing waterways for removal.

“We’ll not only break the houses. We have to move the rubble out of the way because there’s no use breaking a house and leaving the rubble in the waterways,” he said.

The President expressed sympathy to families who lost loved ones and property, praising the military, NADMO, police and other emergency responders for rescue operations.

He added that the Minister for Finance had been directed to release money from the contingency fund to support victims as government pursues long-term measures to address Accra’s perennial flooding.