The devastating floods that swept through Greater Accra following hours of torrential rainfall have claimed 12 lives, left seven people missing, displaced 38,802 residents, and affected 7,761 households.
Minister for the Interior, Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, who disclosed this in a statement in Parliament on Tuesday, described the disaster as one of the worst weather-related emergencies to hit the capital in recent years.
Floodwaters overwhelmed homes, roads and businesses across 18 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.
He disclosed that 25 communities were severely impacted after Accra recorded 169.2 millimetres of rainfall within a single day – the fourth-highest daily rainfall recorded in Ghana since 1995.
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The floods forced thousands of families from their homes as communities across Ga East, Ga West, Ga South, Adenta, Tema Metropolitan, Tema West, Weija Gbawe, Ablekuma North, Ayawaso Central, Korle Klottey, Okaikwei North, Okaikwei South, Ledzokuku, Ningo-Prampram, Krowor, La Dade-Kotopon and other districts battled rising floodwaters.
The Minister disclosed that Ga East recorded the highest death toll with five fatalities, while Ledzokuku and Ayawaso Central each recorded three deaths. Tema West also reported three fatalities.
Emergency responders continue search-and-rescue operations in affected communities as efforts intensify to locate those still missing.
Alhaji Muntaka attributed the disaster partly to exceptionally heavy rainfall and partly to human activities such as indiscriminate dumping of refuse into drains and construction on waterways.
He revealed that Ghana received 593.2 millimetres of rainfall during June, making it the wettest June since meteorological records began.
“The rainfall recorded this June is the highest our country has experienced in a single month,” the Minister told Parliament.
He disclosed that President John Dramani Mahama has approved GH¢350 million in emergency funding to support relief operations and long-term flood mitigation measures.
Out of the allocation, GH¢200 million will finance relief assistance for affected households, while GH¢150 million has been earmarked for drainage improvements and flood prevention projects.
Personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Police Service and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) have also been deployed to support rescue operations, evacuations and the distribution of relief items.
Beyond Greater Accra, the Interior Minister disclosed that flooding has also affected parts of the Central, Volta and Western North regions.
The Central Region alone recorded 58 collapsed houses and 18 additional deaths from building collapses and drowning incidents in recent weeks, while more than 60 communities in the Volta Region experienced flooding.
Assessments, he said, are continuing as the authorities work to determine the full extent of damage nationwide.
The Interior Minister appealed to residents to cooperate with emergency responders, avoid flood-prone areas and adhere to safety advisories as weather forecasts indicate the possibility of more rainfall in the coming weeks.