A downpour on Tuesday morning (March 7, 2023) left parts of Ghana’s capital, Accra, flooded.
Rains that started around 3:40 am clogged major roads in the capital, badly affecting commuters who were mostly heading to workplaces and schools.
Some pictures circulating on social media showed how some pedestrians struggled to get vehicles to their various destinations.
Drivers also had to meander different routes to reach their destinations.
Some areas affected include the Central Business District, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, Dansoman, Odawna, Shiashie, Mateheko, Kaneshie, Adabraka, Kasoa Old Barrier, and Dansoman.
The heavy rains also destroyed several shops as traders counted their losses after the floods subsided.
Prior to Tuesday’s rains, the Ghana Meteorological Agency in a statement warned that “Southeastern Ghana has been engulfed by a rain-bearing cloud”.
This, according to the agency, is producing rain of varying intensity within the Volta Region.
It added that areas within the Greater Accra and Eastern regions will be affected before drifting to Central, Western, and parts of the Ashanti.
Many lives have been lost and properties destroyed due to the annual floods.
A lot of Ghanaians are apprehensive about the annual ritual of the capital city getting flooded.
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 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.
Below are some tweets from some affected residents.
Some parts of the Kasoa-Accra stretch are flooded due to the heavy downpour this dawn. This has caused traffic because part of the road that leads to Accra when coming from Kasoa has been affected by the floods. Drivers should be careful when using that route. pic.twitter.com/HzqD6AWVxN
— Benedict Lemaire Agyenkwah (@QwabenaChamps) March 7, 2023
4 persons were arrested just last night for pouring garbage into the gutters in my Municipality~MCE Ga West Municipal
TODAY
Accra,Floods after a torrential rainfall. People calls for Govt’s intervention as usual.
Funny😊#citicbs #joynews pic.twitter.com/b1P9L8OdHh— AM (@manaaf_official) March 7, 2023
Dzorwulu Traffic light 4:50 am pic.twitter.com/WiVbep0IPm
— KING OF ACCRA (@kingofaccra) March 7, 2023
Muck and flood waters take over parts of Accra. pic.twitter.com/YTpbg0U2U6
— EDHUB🌍ℹ (@eddie_wrt) March 7, 2023