June 29 flood affected about 92,000 people, killed 39 – Interior Minister
The June 29 floods affected 91,989 people from 18,398 households across seven regions and claimed 39 lives, Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has disclosed.
The latest figures show a significant increase from the initial assessment released after torrential rains swept through parts of Ghana on June 29, particularly Accra and other areas in the southern sector.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, August 24, Muntaka said the Greater Accra Region recorded the highest number of affected persons, with 56,022 people impacted and 17 deaths recorded.
“A total of 91,989 persons from 18,398 households were victims of the disaster,” the minister said.
He said the Central Region was the second most affected, with 21,882 people affected across 16 districts and 18 deaths recorded.
The Volta Region recorded 9,466 affected persons and four deaths, while the Western Region recorded 937 affected persons with no deaths.
The Western North Region recorded 2,031 affected persons, while the Eastern and Ashanti regions recorded 190 and 1,461 affected persons respectively, with no deaths recorded in either region.
The Interior Minister had earlier described the rainfall as unprecedented, with Ghana recording 593.2 millimetres of rainfall in June, the highest monthly total since rainfall data began being tracked in 1995.
Following the disaster, President John Dramani Mahama directed the release of GHS300 million from the Contingency Fund, with GHS150 million earmarked for immediate relief and another GHS150 million for flood mitigation measures.
The President also directed authorities to identify and remove structures obstructing major drainage channels and instructed the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to provide relief to affected communities.