Torrential rains sparked flooding across Accra on Monday, killing at least three people, authorities and local media reported, with the president blaming climate change and unchecked urbanisation.
Flooding is common during Ghana’s rainy season, but residents say inundations in the capital have become worse in recent years due to rapid urbanisation, the building on and blocking of waterways, and a lack of investment in drainage infrastructure.
Some 140 millimetres of rain fell on the city in a single day, “the highest experienced in several years” and nearly triple last year’s high, President John Mahama said.
“That aspect of the problem is beyond our control because it is driven by changing climatic conditions,” he said on X.
But he also warned of “the issue of human behaviour”.
“Whenever government begins removing structures built in waterways, some people accuse us of being inhumane,” he said. “Yet when disasters such as today’s flooding occur, the consequences affect everyone.”
In the eastern suburb of Tse Addo, emergency responders and local volunteers used boats to rescue at least 15 children and an infant after rains that started lashing the city at 3:00 am flooded the area.
Local authorities said the body of a man in his 60s was recovered from the low-lying Alajo district, where floodwaters also damaged vehicles and homes.
Meanwhile, journalists in the neighbourhood reported two more people killed from rising waters coming into contact with electrical wiring in their home.
The Ministry of the Interior urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel as the police, military and firefighters were dispatched to assist rescue operations.
The greater Accra metropolitan area is home to more than five million people, with flooding frequently disrupting transport, damaging homes and businesses, and claiming lives during periods of heavy rainfall.
“Unfortunately my house is flooded,” retired journalist Philip Mensah, 67, told AFP, adding that his “1970s collection of vinyl records is now underwater”.
Patience Naa Adjeley Adjei said she had spent hours trying to keep water out of her room.
“I have mopped my room more than eight times,” the schoolteacher told AFP. “I can’t even step out because my room is flooded, and outside is flooded.”
The Ghana Meteorological Agency warned that rain-bearing clouds were expected to persist over southeastern Ghana before spreading westward later on Monday, raising the risk of further flooding.
