By
Charles Ayitey
Accra, Ghana’s capital and largest city has been inundated by what witnesses and meteorologists describe as the heaviest torrential rain in years.
The flooding, which has virtually swallowed shops, offices, schools and residences, on Wednesday night left a gory memory as one of the popular GOIL (Ghana Oil) fuel stations at the city’s Kwame Nkrumah Circle burst into flames. Hundreds of people and passers by seeking refuge from the rain under the main shed of the fuel pump were killed in the blast, including a one year old child.
During the Blast
After the Blast
Most of the main streets in Accra are flooded as commercial and private vehicles are stuck in the flood which is currently above knee level.
Principal Streets Flooded
Automobile Industries Submerged
Household items and broken market stalls could be seen floating on the submerged streets, especially on Accra’s Ring Road and Nkrumah Circle, with thousands trapped in their homes making SOS calls for help through the hotlines of the National Disaster and Management Organisation (NADMO).
President John Dramani Mahama, upon visiting scenes of the disasters, described the loss of lives as “catastrophic, almost unprecedented.”
Charred Bodies of Victims
According to the President, the government has often been forced to compromise in dealing with residents who build on waterways in the capital but the time had come for permanent measures.
“We have to take some measures to avoid this in future. Often when these measures are drastic, you have a lot of sympathy and pressure not to take these measures. But I think the time has come for us to move houses out of the waterways. The public should understand that it is necessary to take such measures to save everybody else” the President specified.
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