Many displaced, injured by rainstorm

A heavy rainstorm swept through Accra last Sunday which reportedly ripped off roofing sheets of some homes and other buildings and caused flooding in some parts of the City. The storm also led to the collapse of a Church building at Gbawe Borla in the Weija-Gbawe Constituency injuring about 20 congregants. Speaking on the perennial flooding in Accra, the Minister for Works and Housing, Mr. Samuel Atta Akyea, said that to address the situation, there was the need to demolish buildings identified to be on water ways by the Town and Country Planning Department. The Minister, who is also a Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South Constituency, said the exercise to permanently deal with the recurring flooding in the capital, would cost the government over $700 million. He emphasised the need and the importance of finding a lasting solution “to this perennial flooding which continue to destroy lives and property during the raining season than to resort to temporary measures which are costly.” Mr. Atta Akyea stressed the need to identify a local financial arrangement and requirement to raise the amount to permanently deal with the situation. To ameliorate and prevent the loss of lives and properties during the coming raining season, he assured that, the Ministry will work together with Dredge Masters to desilt the drains in the city. Since the onset of rains this year, there had been reported cases of flooding in several parts of Accra including Asylum Down, Avenor, Alajo and the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange. The causes of the perennial floods in the capital have mainly been attributed to siting of buildings on water ways and the indiscriminate disposal of waste which end up choking the inadequate drainage system in the city.