Laboma Beach covered by plastic waste after devastating Accra floods

Laboma Beach has been left covered in plastic waste and other debris after the recent heavy rains and devastating floods that swept through parts of Accra, raising fresh concerns about pollution, poor waste management and the growing environmental impact of flooding in the capital.

Large quantities of discarded plastic bottles, sachet water wrappers, food containers, polythene bags and other refuse were washed onto the popular beach by floodwaters, transforming what is usually a vibrant recreational destination into a shoreline littered with waste.

Watch as waste dumped in gutters pollutes the sea and litters La shoreline

The heaps of rubbish stretched across sections of the beach, with plastics entangled in seaweed and scattered along the sand.

The floods, triggered by torrential rainfall, overwhelmed drains and waterways across several communities in Accra.

As floodwaters rushed through streets and gutters, they carried enormous volumes of improperly disposed waste into streams, lagoons and eventually the Atlantic Ocean, where much of it was deposited along beaches, including Laboma.

According to Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, torrential rains and severe flooding affected 38,802 people across 18 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

The disaster claimed 12 lives, left seven people missing, and displaced 7,761 households, while search, rescue and relief operations remain ongoing.

JKB/VPO

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