Flooding has become an annual phenomenon in Accra in recent decades and has severe impacts on the poor and vulnerable.
The perennial floods in Accra may not end anytime soon as some parts of the city get flooded every year whenever rain falls.
Persistent floods over the years in Ghana, especially in the major cities, Accra and Kumasi, have been blamed on the behaviour and activities of some Ghanaians.
Ghanaians will not forget the heavy rainfall that resulted in one of the biggest floods in the capital on June 3, 2015, popularly called the ‘twin disaster’.
The floods and a fire outbreak from a fuel station resulted in the death of over 200 people and damage to properties running into millions of Ghana cedis.
The history of flooding in the country has been a recurring happening.
Indeed, there has not been a recent rainy season in Ghana that has not recorded some form of flooding.
The rains accounted for the submerging of roads, houses and cars in various areas of the city.
Vehicles and passengers have had to struggle their way out of the flood waters.
One may blame the perennial floods on the inadequate drains and waste management practices.
These have been a few of the major reasons rain water cannot flow freely, resulting in drainage systems spilling over during rainstorms.
Inadequate capacity of some critical culverts and construction of buildings on water are also part of the bigger problem.
The perceived and actual causes of flood hazards have come under tremendous debate.
Heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday dawn, May 24, 2022, left parts of Accra inaccessible, again.
Tackling floods have been a major source of worry to successive governments.
The time has come for a more permanent solution to be found to the perennial flooding.
The government has consistently called for attitudinal change on the part of the citizenry, especially as regards the dumping of refuse in gutters or drains.
But it appears it has not really occurred to governments over the years that if the gutters and drains are covered, citizens would not have the chance to dump refuse in them.
Fighting floods must not be left to the government alone. Civil society groups need to join hands to avoid floods in the country.
Residents must cooperate with the assemblies to keep clean environments through proper waste management practices to save our communities from floods.
Ghana has experienced floods too often and it is time to put our hands together to prevent lives and properties from being swept away by floods.
Source: Chipo Kwaku
