Accra, April 23, GNA- There was no life lost and no major damage of properties in flood that hit some parts of Accra after a night downpour in the city.
The flood engulfed parts of the Nkrumah Circle, Obetsebi Lamptey round about, Anyaah, Mallam Junction and other areas along the Odaw drains.
Drains along the Obetsebi Lamptey roundabout to the Nkrumah circle were overflown, running into the premises of the PHC Motors Limited and others near the Awudome cemetery.
An official of the PHC Motors told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the flood had prevented their customers from entering into their offices, describing the situation as terrible.
As at 10:55 hours when GNA arrived at the company, scrubbers were busily clearing the flood to allow their staff and customers in. Another employee of the company also told GNA that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) had been informed about the condition of the drainage, yet nothing had been done to address the problem. At Anyaah, where the height of the flood reached the window level of a particular house, Mr Kofi Koree, a victim expressed disappointment that nothing had been done to save residents of the area from experiencing the floods each year.
He said a house had been constructed to block the waterway, but efforts to get it demolished had been futile, since the owner was claiming compensation.
He therefore appealed to government to intervene and get the drainage constructed for them as soon as possible. "We know staying here is dangerous and would want to move, but we have nowhere to go", he said.
On what the National Disaster Management (NADMO) was doing to save the situation, Mr Douglas Akrofi-Asiedu, National Coordinator, told GNA that a task force team was on the field to assess the damages. He stated that the Organization had anticipated the problem and had started putting in place mechanisms to prevent recurrence of flood disaster before it rained.
He hinted that NADMO had also held a consultative meeting with personnel of the security agencies and the Town and Country Planning to enable them to address the problem holistically.
Mr Akrofi-Asiedu said NADMO had planned to map up the disaster areas to embark on an effective sensitization exercise to educate residents on the dangers of living in such areas.
The NADMO National Coordinator said the Organisations had no legal backing to prosecute recalcitrant residents, but could only play an advisory role and expressed the hope to get the AMA's full support to perform the mandate.
W01 Brookman Mensah, Head of the Rapid Response Team on site confirmed to GNA that they were assessing the causes of the floods. He said at Darkuman for instance, they realized that two buildings had been constructed to block drainage and this caused flooding in some parts of the area.
