Severe flooding in southern Ghana

At least 14 people have died in southern Ghana as a result of flooding following particularly heavy rainfall on 20 June, media sources report.

The areas worst affected are the Central, Eastern Volta and Greater Accra regions, where farm land, houses, shops, recreational centres, petrol stations and private and public transport vehicles are submerged. Roads, including the Accra-Tema motorway linking eastern Ghana to the capital, have also been flooded, leaving many communities isolated.

Ghana News Agency reports that three people died and at least 1,000 more have been displaced by flooding in Agona Nyakrom in Central region. In a separate report the international news agency Reuters says at least 11 people have lost their life in the Greater Accra region, citing emergency officials. Many more people have been reported missing.

Officials of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), police and soldiers have deployed to assist the affected population and search for victims.

June is typically a rainy month in southern Ghana but residents say this is the heaviest seasonal rainfall in living memory. The flooding is partly due to unregulated building along rivers and drainage channels, poor drainage systems and the build-up of pipe-blocking waste such as plastic in the environment.