Black Wednesday
Accra and its immediate environs experienced one of the heaviest downpours in recent memory, forcing thousands of people out of their homes, as a result of the accompanying floods.
Five people have so far been confirmed dead by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in Accra alone. The causalities came mainly from electrocution and the caving in of buildings which housed the victims.
The most affected parts of the city were the famous Kwame Nkrumah Circle, parts of Dansoman, Santa Maria, Achimota, Alajo and parts of Dzorwulu, Ofankor, Chokor and Kasoa among others.
The floods created panic among the residents, forcing the Ministry of Education to announce the closure of all first cycle schools in the Metropolis. The Vodafone offices around the Kwame Nkrumah Circle were also shut down, and the workers were asked to go home.
Commuters from Kasoa to Accra diverted their route through Gbawe, as the Mallam Junction, where a modern interchange is being constructed, had been completed flooded.
Train services between Accra and Tema, which many workers use to commute between their homes and offices, was suspended as parts of the rail tracks were submerged in water. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) was also forced to cut power supply to some parts of the city, to enable NADMO officials rescue trapped victims.
The Chronicle monitoring team that went round and spotted hundreds of residents scooping water from their rooms, whilst others were also seen drying their personal belongings that were submerged in the floods.
The traffic situation was also not the best, as the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and its surrounding areas, virtually became a no go area, due to heavy congestion of cars and vehicles on the road, and the covering of the bridge over the Odaw Storm Drain.
President Mills and senior officials of his government went round in the morning to inspect the affected areas, and to also sympathise with the victims.
Meanwhile, our Eastern Regional correspondent, Isaac Akwetey-Okunor, also reports that two people had been confirmed dead at Asantewaah, a farming community in the East Akyem Municipality of the Region, following torrential rains that hit the area on Tuesday night.
The dead have been confirmed as a 30 year old breast feeding mother, Afia Amabea, and her one year old child.
The baby died on the spot, whilst the mother died at the New Tafo Government Hospital, where she was sent for treatment.
According to the East Akyem Municipal Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr. Nimako Dankwah, the two lost their lives when the house they were sleeping in collapsed on them during the heavy rains.
Sympathising with the affected family, Mr. Dankwah described it as a disturbing situation, and called on residents of the area to desist from building on low lying areas, to avert some of these problems.
'I would like to convey my deepest condolence to all affected families who have lost dear ones,' he said.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the area, Simon Peter Asirifi, in the company of some officials from the Municipal NADMO, has visited the affected places to have firsthand information.
The MCE advised the residents, particularly areas such as Adabraka and Ati-mayira, all suburbs of New Tafo, to move uphill, since the place was a flood prone area.
However, areas such as New Tafo and its surroundings were not spared, where as many as seven buildings were submerged.
From Tema, Richard Attenkah reports that the heavy downpour that swept across the Greater Accra Region, especially Tema and Accra, and other parts of the country, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, has submerged the new bridge currently under construction at Kpone, which is over the Jurokor stream.
The only features of the bridge under construction which were visible, was the skeleton of the iron rods that were used to extend the height of the bridge. No vehicle could move across, as there was no sign of land or solid surface to facilitate movement, thus cutting the township from the rest of Tema and the region.
However, residents in Kpone had a respite, as they used the un-motorable road by the Sunon-Asogli Power Plant, a private power generating station in the area, to access Tema.
Trotro and taxi drivers who decided to ply the route, decided to cash in on the situation, by charging exorbitant prices to transport passengers from the town to Tema and Ashaiman.
The trotro drivers were charging GH¢1 for the Kpone-Ashaiman route, instead of Gp60, whereas trotro from the town to Tema, which is Gp50, became GH¢1, and taxis from the town to Tema, which is GH¢1, shot up to GH¢1.50.
It is estimated that it will take about a week to pump the water out of the bridge to enable the contractors continue with their work. No death or casualty was recorded.
Other parts of the Tema Metropolis, which also experienced flooding, were the Gulf City, Tema Manhean, Saki, and parts of Ashaiman, but in all cases no casualty was recorded.
At the time of going to press, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Amarh Ashietey, and some government officials, including the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Robert Kempes Ofosuware, and the Tema Metropolitan NADMO Coordinator, Hajia Zeinab Abdulai, were on a tour of the affected areas within the Metropolis.