Accra floods: Assemblies must act now to prevent disaster – Engineer

A civil engineer, Abdulai Mahama, has accused the various local assemblies in the Accra Municipality of being responsible for the perennial floods in the Greater Accra Region.

Floods are common in the capital at the slightest downpour, and the engineer wants the assemblies to act immediately.

According to him, Accra’s flooding can be solved if the Physical Planning Departments of the assemblies take care of the situation and enact rigorous bylaws.

“I am not surprised about the level of water on the land surface with recent rains, resulting in flooding in parts of the capital. We are not going to witness any drastic change positively in the field by just making comments here and there and doing little to salvage the situation. The central government shouldn’t be held totally accountable for the level of floods witnessed in our neighbourhoods. A lot more has to be done by the local assemblies, and it is better we channel our energies towards them as that is how we will make some progress in trying to reduce the water levels in Accra and all other capitals,” he stated.

He suggested bylaws that will ensure that companies and compounds use lawns to improve infiltration.

“When somebody comes to seek for a construction permit, it is only proper the assemblies in the capital would’ve introduced a component which is taking off their hard surfaces and making use of greens. As of now, a lot of companies and compounds who receive permits from the assemblies are lining their compounds with concrete,” he told ETV.

He explained the notion of velocity in relation to floods by stating that the larger the region of water velocity, the greater the level of infiltration. As a result, an area with a porous surface that is neither tiled nor concreted will see a significant infiltration of water into the soil, minimising flooding.

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.

A fire explosion occurred after several hours of rain and flooding around the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange enclave.

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 during the flooding when he was electrocuted.

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 Carprice 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 a few other human factors.