When Infrastructure Saves Lives: Can Accra Learn From Toronto Before The Next Flood?

One city brace for a storm with hundreds of thousands of stormwaters catch basins, an extensive storm sewer network, and decades of investment in flood management. Another city watches floodwaters swallow homes, businesses, vehicles, and precious lives while residents desperately search for safety. The rain may be the same, but the outcome is often determined long before the clouds appear. The difference is preparation. As Ghana mourns the lives and properties lost in Accra's recent floods, one question demands urgent national attention: Can better infrastructure prevent the next disaster?

The devastating floods that recently struck Accra left behind more than submerged roads and destroyed buildings. They left broken families, interrupted livelihoods, damaged businesses, and painful memories that will remain long after the floodwaters have disappeared.

Among the most unforgettable scenes was the rescue of an elderly woman struggling for her life as rushing floodwaters engulfed her community. The dramatic rescue captured the attention of Ghanaians both at home and abroad and reminded the nation that every flood statistic represents a human life, a family in distress, and dreams suddenly interrupted.

As communities began cleaning up, another conversation emerged.

Rather than asking only who should respond after floods occur, many citizens began asking how Ghana can prevent such tragedies from happening again.

Across the Atlantic, the City of Toronto offers valuable lessons.

According to the City of Toronto, the municipality maintains hundreds of thousands of stormwaters catch basins together with an extensive storm sewer network designed to collect rainwater and snowmelt and safely channel it away from neighbourhoods, roads, businesses, and public infrastructure. This system is supported by retention ponds, engineered channels, culverts, pumping stations, flood-control facilities, and continuous maintenance throughout the year.

The objective is simple.
Prevent heavy rainfall from becoming a humanitarian disaster.

Toronto is certainly not immune to flooding. In recent years, the city has experienced severe storms that overwhelmed sections of its drainage system and caused significant property damage. Yet decades of investment in stormwater infrastructure, environmental planning, emergency preparedness, and routine maintenance have significantly strengthened the city's ability to manage increasingly intense weather events.

The comparison has renewed discussions in Ghana about whether similar long-term investments could dramatically reduce the impact of flooding in Accra.

Many observers point first to waste management.

Across several parts of Accra, drains become clogged with plastic waste, discarded food containers, silt, and other debris. During heavy rainfall, these blocked drains lose much of their capacity to carry stormwater, forcing water onto roads, into homes, and through business districts.

Cleaning drains before the rainy season may appear to be a routine exercise, but it can make a significant difference when storms arrive.

Another important issue concerns urban planning.

Rapid urbanisation has transformed many parts of Accra. While development has brought economic opportunities, it has also increased pressure on drainage infrastructure. In some areas, natural waterways have been narrowed or obstructed, while open spaces that once absorbed rainfall have been replaced by concrete surfaces.

Many urban planners argue that preserving wetlands, maintaining waterways, expanding green spaces, and enforcing development regulations are essential components of modern flood management.

The design of residential neighbourhoods also deserves attention.

Many Ghanaian homes are surrounded by high concrete walls with fully paved compounds finished with concrete, terrazzo, or tiles. Although these designs may offer durability and security, they also reduce the amount of rainwater that naturally infiltrates the soil, increasing runoff during heavy storms.

In contrast, many residential neighbourhoods in Toronto feature permeable landscapes, front lawns, gardens, trees, and green spaces that help absorb rainwater before it reaches drainage systems. While these features alone cannot eliminate flooding, they form part of a broader strategy that works together with engineered infrastructure.

Flood prevention is therefore not dependent on a single drain or one engineering project.

It requires an integrated approach involving drainage construction, effective waste management, responsible land-use planning, environmental protection, public education, and strict enforcement of building regulations.

Climate change has made this challenge even more urgent.

Scientists continue to warn that extreme rainfall events are becoming more frequent and more intense across many parts of the world. Cities that fail to modernise their infrastructure may find themselves increasingly vulnerable to flooding regardless of their geographical location.

For Ghana, this reality presents both a challenge and an opportunity.

The challenge is to acknowledge that emergency responses alone cannot solve recurring floods.

The opportunity is to invest in resilient infrastructure capable of protecting lives, supporting economic development, and strengthening public confidence.

Government certainly has a central role to play by investing in modern drainage systems, improving waste collection, enforcing environmental laws, and supporting sustainable urban planning.

But citizens also share responsibility.
Keeping drains free of litter, avoiding indiscriminate dumping of waste, respecting environmental regulations, and participating in community clean-up exercises are practical actions that contribute to flood prevention.

Flood resilience is built through partnership.

It requires engineers, environmental experts, urban planners, policymakers, local authorities, businesses, traditional leaders, civil society organisations, and ordinary citizens working toward a common goal.

The recent floods in Accra should therefore be remembered not simply as another natural disaster.

They should become a national turning point.
A turning point that inspires cleaner cities.

A turning point that encourages smarter urban planning.

A turning point that places resilient infrastructure at the heart of national development.

Because when governments invest in drainage systems, they are doing far more than laying concrete beneath the ground.

They are protecting homes.
They are preserving businesses.
They are strengthening communities.
And most importantly, they are saving lives.
The next heavy rainfall over Accra is inevitable.

Whether it becomes another national tragedy may depend on the decisions made today.

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