Greater Accra, Central, and Western regions will experience another downpour tonight (26 May 2022), the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has warned persons living in these areas.
According to the agency, Cape Coast, Accra, Akyem Oda, Ho, and Takoradi, among others, will experience significant rainfall, adding that thunderstorms will accompany the rain.
Consequently, they have advised residents within the listed places to take precautions to avert any disaster.
The agency explained that the peak of the rainy season is approaching.
Even before June, which is noted for heavy rains, Accra has recorded two flooding incidents in four days.
Following hours of rain, parts of Accra and other urban centres in the Greater Accra Region, including North Kaneshie, Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange, and Kasoa in the Central Region, were flooded.
The phenomenon obstructed traffic flow on some major roads in the capital.
Traders counted heavy losses after their shops were filled with floodwaters which destroyed their products.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has ordered the removal of structures along waterways.
Destruction by floods
Many lives have been lost and properties destroyed due to the annual floods.
In 2011, floods in the country resulted in the death of more than 30 people nationwide, with 15 victims in Accra.
In 2015, 159 people were confirmed dead from a twin disaster of floods and fire explosion.
It was one of the deadliest catastrophes to befall the country, leading to days of mourning as families lost their loved ones.
After several hours of rain and flooding around the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange enclave, a fire explosion occurred.
In June 2020, a man died trying to warn neighbours about flooding at Odawna in Accra.
A resident explained that the deceased was trying to salvage some items when he was electrocuted during the flooding.
At Achimota, a bus was trapped in a storm drain. It was not carrying passengers. At least 20 persons were rescued from that incident after a downpour that lasted hours.
Flooding in Accra has also killed people and displaced people in the city in 1995, 1997, 2001, and 2010.
Interventions by authorities
For many Ghanaians, the annual ritual of the capital city flooding has become a cause of anger.
Efforts by the city authorities to check the situation continue to be undermined by recalcitrant residents and the weak enforcement of bye-laws.
The government has attempted to address this problem by dredging rivers and gutters before rainy seasons, but this appears to be ineffective.
In May 2019, President Nana Akufo-Addo inspected two major projects handed out in 2016 to Dredge Masters Limited for the desilting and dredging of the Odaw channel and restoration of the Korle Lagoon to avert the perennial flooding in Accra.
The scope of work also included the redesign and construction of the KLERP interceptor and breakwater at the outfall.
The channel under the scope starts from the Odaw Onyasia confluence at Caprice in Accra, through Avenor, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, and the Agbogbloshie-South Kaneshie drain (the Upper and Lower Lagoon).
The two projects the president inspected were the Accra Sanitary Sewer and Storm Water Drainage Alleviation Project at Circle and the Drainage Construction at Kaneshie 1st Light Intersection.
Other causes of floods are the improper planning of settlement in Accra, choked gutters that block the drainage system, and other human factors.