Flood In Ghana's Capital Kills At Least Six People

A downpour that hit Accra, Ghana's capital, killed at least six people according to the information given by the authorities Tuesday.

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George Ayisah, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), confirmed that the victims, a child among them, died on Tuesday in Okai-Koi North, a suburb of the capital.

The NADMO rescue team saved 300 citizens in two of the city's worst-hit areas. Still, the economic impact has to be calculated as floods are the second most prevalent and devastating natural disasters in sub-Saharan Africa.

"We are yet to arrive at the total financial cost due to the flood," Ayisah said, as calculations of previous flood events have amounted thousands of U.S. dollars.

An unprecedented event back in 2010 affected 55 communities, displaced 700,000 people, and the total cost was estimated to be US$116,340.22, according to NADMO data. In 2015 another massive flood event left 150 deaths as well as extensive destruction of properties and economic losses.

Usually, the worse affected regions include Greater Accra, Volta, Central, Western and Eastern Regions. Scientists have linked the floodings, which are getting more severe and frequent, to climate change, as it increases the likelihood of extreme rainfall.

Climate change intensification creates a higher risk of damaging flood that affects social infrastructure, the environment, and triggers the risk of contracting diseases such as cholera, malaria, and hepatitis. 

To tackle the dangers of the flood season, Ghana's government trains its population for such events through educational campaigns on radio, TV, and other media, carried out by the National Disaster Management Organisation, Ghana Meteorological Agency, and National Commission for Civic Education.