29 dead, 6 still missing after devastating floods across Ghana – Interior Minister

The Minister of the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, has disclosed that 29 persons lost their lives, while six others remain missing in the recent floods that hit several parts of the country.

Speaking before Parliament's Public Assurance Committee on July 7, 2026, the minister said the fatalities were recorded in separate flood disasters in the Greater Accra, Central, and Volta regions.

He said the Central Region suffered one of the worst flood disasters a week before the June 29 floods in Accra, resulting in the deaths of 18 people and the collapse of dozens of houses.

"Per the records we have, if you recollect, the Central Region, a week before June 29, recorded its biggest disaster, where we lost 18 people and about 58 houses collapsed," he said.

Muntaka also provided an update on the June 29 floods in Accra, stating that 12 people were initially confirmed dead while seven others were reported missing.

However, he noted that a body was recovered on July 6, 2026, and if officially identified as one of the missing persons, the death toll from the Accra floods would increase to 13, while the number of missing persons would reduce to six.

"For the June 29 incident in Accra, the records we have show that 12 people lost their lives and seven were missing.

"I was told yesterday that a body was found, so if that person is confirmed to be one of the missing persons, it brings the death toll to 13 and reduces the number of missing persons to six," he stated.

The Interior Minister further disclosed that four people lost their lives in flood-related incidents in the Volta Region, bringing the nationwide death toll from the recent floods to 29.

He said government agencies activated emergency response measures, including the establishment of temporary shelters for displaced residents.

Despite these efforts, Muntaka revealed that many affected residents declined to move into the shelters, opting instead to remain in their communities.

"People did not want to go to the shelters. What they wanted were relief items so they could remain in their communities," he explained.

According to the minister, the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection identified three shelters with the capacity to accommodate about 200 displaced persons, while an additional facility in Ashaiman could house up to 1,000 people.

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He noted that authorities also made arrangements to provide extra mattresses and convert some public offices into temporary accommodation should the need arise.

Muntaka further disclosed that the National Security Secretariat had made available another facility capable of accommodating about 300 displaced persons as part of the government's emergency response measures.

Meanwhile, the government has launched a comprehensive post-flood recovery and mitigation exercise to restore affected communities and reduce the risk of future flooding.

The exercise is being led by the Ghana Armed Forces and involves a nationwide clean-up and restoration operation focused on improving sanitation, restoring public safety, and preventing public health risks.

JKB/BAI

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