Accra Has Been Flooding Since 1960. We Know Why, We Just Don’t Fix It | JoyNews Explains

Every rainy season. Same places. Same floods. Same deaths. Kaneshie. Odawna. Adabraka. Circle. Nima. Alajo. Ghana's flooding crisis is not new. Accra was flooding in 1960. The April 18, 1960 Daily Graphic headline — "When The Rains Came To Accra" — could be reprinted today with only the date changed. In this episode of JoyNews Explains, Jacqueline Ansomah Yeboah traces 66 years of Accra's flooding crisis — the causes, the casualties, the money spent and wasted, and the structural failures that mean the same disaster keeps happening to the same people. Including the darkest chapter: June 3, 2015. This year marks 11 years since the flood-and-fire twin disaster that killed an estimated 150–250+ people. Eleven years later, a lawsuit filed by survivors remains undetermined. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — Hook: The 1960 Headline That Never Changed 1:00 — Introduction 1:20 — Why Does Accra Flood? The Geography 2:45 — The Five Structural Causes (Jason, Research Desk) 3:45 — 66 Years of the Same Story: 1935–2014 5:30 — June 3, 2015: The Day Everything Changed 7:00 — The Money: $660M Conti, $350M GARID, Still Flooding 8:15 — Why Every Intervention Keeps Failing (Jason, Research Desk) 9:15 — 2025 and 2026: The Script Repeats 10:15 — Who Is Really Responsible? KEY FACTS: • Accra's first major flood: 1935 • 1935–2023: 3,000+ flood deaths nationally, 700,000+ displaced • June 3 2015: 150–250+ dead — now National Flood Disaster Day • Annual flood losses: ~US$200 million / year • Conti Project (2012): ~US$660m — outcome: stalled • GARID (2019–2027): US$350m — 36% disbursed as of mid-2025 • Cost to properly fix the Odaw system: ~US$675m • Bank of Ghana foreign reserves: ~US$14.4 billion • June 3 2015 lawsuit: Still undetermined as of 2026 Follow JoyNews: Instagram: @myjoyonline Twitter/X: @JoyNewsOnTV TikTok: @joynews Facebook: JoyNews Read more: myjoyonline.com #GhanaFlooding #AccraFloods #June3 #NationalFloodDisasterDay #OdawRiver #KorleeLagoon #GARID #GhanaRains #AccraFlooding2026 #JoyNewsExplains #GhanaNews2026 #Ghana #AccraLife #GhanaDisaster #FloodGhana #GhanaInfrastructure #GreaterAccra #GhanaEnvironment #WestAfricaFloods #GhanaAccountability #JoyNews