Circle floods caused by Nima channel-Odaw link – NADMO

The Thursday June 9 floods which affected areas around the Odaw River at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and also trapped residents at Adabraka prompting rescue efforts has been attributed to the Nima drainage systems which flows into the Odaw River.

This was revealed by Mr Wise Ametepeh, a Hydro Engineer at the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) on Friday June 10, 2016. Mr Wise disclosed this after a visit to the area by the Minister for the Interior Mr Prosper Bani, who was accompanied by other government officials.

He said the Nima channel is filled with debris and other materials, which made it difficult for water to flow into the main Odaw channel.

“It is also a result of the inability of the Nima drain to discharge water into the Odaw. If the Odaw is big enough to take water from all the channels, there will be no problem at all and in this particular case, Odaw was full to the brim. …So, all the water that you saw at Circle yesterday was from this [Nima outlet]”.

He explained that a proposal has been submitted to address the problem within the shortest possible time.

“There is a proposal to take water from the Nima drain and the Odawna drain parallel to the Odaw River. That channel will be dedicated to the Nima drain and the Odaw drain,” he added.

Dozens of people had to be evacuated from their homes in Adabraka, in the Greater Accra Region by personnel from the Ghana Army, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) after they were trapped in long hours of heavy rains, which flooded several parts of the city.

Some schoolchildren were also trapped by the floods and had to wait for hours before being rescued. Dredgers and other heavy-duty machines decongesting the Odaw River located close to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle were all submerged.

Other areas which were affected by the Thursday’s downpour include Kaneshie, Mallam, Weija, Avenor, Alajo, the Stanbic Heights area within the Airport Residential Area, the Fiesta Royale area and the Graphic Road, among others.