The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) says it had earlier been alerted to the likelihood of heavy rains this season and took pre-emptive steps aimed at reducing the impact on lives and property.
The Director for Man-Made Disasters at NADMO, Maxwell Emmanuel Niber, explained that preparedness measures, including demolition exercises in parts of the national capital, were carried out well ahead of the onset of the rains in June.
He noted that many of these interventions focused on clearing structures along waterways to improve drainage flow and reduce flood risks.
However, he acknowledged that the exercise was met with public resistance, with some residents describing the actions as inhumane.
“We had an estimate that there were going to be rains this year, and I think our Director-General started some work early this year around Chado, where a number of structures that were sited in waterways were pulled down,” he said.
“Of course, you know the Ghanaian attitude, they thought our Director-General was inhuman with these actions, and of course, if we had gotten the kind of support that we needed from the public, I don’t think we would be up to this, but it has been a number of dredging,” he added.
Mr Niber further stated that the intensity of the rainfall exceeded expectations, adding that June recorded rainfall on 22 out of 30 days. He said the severity of the downpours was not fully anticipated, contributing to the scale of flooding experienced in parts of Accra following the recent heavy rains.
“We just have to understand that the volumes were not what we expected. At 140 millilitres, and that is several years of rain, we have never received such a volume of water. What is making it such a big problem is that in 22 days in June alone, we had constant rainfall,” he noted.
His remarks come in the wake of Monday’s downpour, which caused significant flooding and disruption in several communities across the capital.
