Planning For The Next Big Earthquake In Accra- Lessons From The Haiti Tragedy

Ghana’s Earthquake History

Although Ghana with a moderately active seismicity, shares no proximity to the major earthquake zones, historical records show that Ghana is prone to earthquake calamities. There are historical records of earthquakes dating back to 1615 with magnitude greater than 6.0 on the Richter Scale. During the earthquake of 1615, the fortress of Sao Jorge at Elmina was destroyed.

According to historical records, on December 18, 1636, a major earthquake hit the Axim area collapsing buildings and other infrastructure in gold mining operations to the northeast of Axim. The last three major earthquakes occurred in Ghana in 1862, 1906 and 1939. The 1862 Accra earthquake with a magnitude 6.5 on the Richter Scale killed three people and caused considerable damage. The Osu Castle was destroyed just like the Haiti Presidential Palace. The effects of this earthquake were felt in Togo and in Benin. Two magnitude 4.6 and 4.9 seismic events occurred in Accra in 1871 and 1872.

The epicenter of the 1906 earthquake was near Ho collapsing buildings and causing severe damage.

The intensity of this event was also felt in Togo and Benin. The 1907 aftershocks of the 1906 event were felt in Accra and Lome.

The 1939 Accra Earthquake

The June 1939 magnitude 6.5 earthquake was the most destructive in Ghana’s history causing

$67.3 Million damage in Accra at today’s value. This seismic event lasted about thirty seconds and killed seventeen people and injured about one hundred and forty. Its intensity centered on James Town. If the same force quake hits Accra today, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Between 1964 and 1997 various minor tremors shook Ghana. In fact, the epicenter of the March 1964 tremor was located not far from the Akosombo Dam. The effects of two tremors that occurred in 1997 were felt in all the regions.

Lessons from Haiti’s Tragedy

Can what happened in Haiti occur in Ghana? Yes, it could. And this is why? In the aftermath of the quake, Haiti was variously described as “a predatory state with a diffident president, ineffective political institutions, corrupt and venal politicians, and a weak civil society.” Before the earthquake, flooding, mudslides, collapsing houses were the norm in Haiti simply because regulations designed to prevent erosion, and building codes designed to prevent criminally shoddy construction, were ignored with impunity. Does that sound familiar? In the immediate aftermath of the quake, not only did the visible symbols of Haiti as a nation state collapse, its governmental infrastructure also crumbled. Haiti lost its parliament, presidential palace, churches and hospitals. The archbishop of Haiti and the head of the UN Mission in Haiti were all killed. The destruction left a big howling lacuna and coupled with the non-existence of any emergency preparedness plan, precious lives were lost. The Haiti nation looked for a leader to assure a grieving nation of the continuity of governance and a hope for the future but there was none. The president himself was homeless and many of his appointees died during the quake. That might explain his administration’s milquetoast response to the tragedy. Haiti learned the hard way that a president’s radiant bonhomie alone is not enough in times of national emergency. What can see a country through crisis is leadership that exudes courage and hope. It’s only leadership that inspires confidence in the future that can assuage national pain and anguish in the aftermath of a cataclysm of biblical proportions. I hope our politicians learned a lesson from the Haiti tragedy.

Planning for the Big One in Accra

Ghana does not have to suffer a similar fate should the unthinkable happen in Accra. The government should starting planning for the day when the big one hits Accra. This should include designating evacuation routes from Accra, selecting a creditable alternative to Accra as a crisis time capital, warehousing in all the regional capitals of emergency food and medical supplies, amending the constitution now to include presidential succession beyond the Vice President and the Speaker of Parliament etc. There are many projects on the books if implemented, would help Ghana survive a major earthquake. But each successive government has paid lip service to the projects and only broaches the idea as an election time gimmick. In Akan mythology, the vulture is known as the great procrastinator. This is awfully true with Ghana when it comes to planning and implementation of projects. There is also a disconnect between research and societal relevance. The Geology Department of the University of Ghana has many research papers, historical records on Ghana’s earthquakes. The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) should plan and coordinate its quake disaster response with the department. In the wake of the quake hoax in Accra recently, Mr. Kofi Portuphy, National Coordinator of NADMO released a diaphanous press release, asking residents to build earthquake resistant structures by seeking professional advice from geologists, architects and engineers. How many Ghanaians would pay heed to such advice and seek geologists, architects and engineers? In a country notorious for cutting corners, we all know that nobody will heed to such advice. NADMO should rather start working with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to revamp the building codes. The AMA should rewrite the building codes on the books, come up with new earthquake resistant codes and enforce the statutes going forward. This will require a profound political and cultural shift. It might not be popular but truly might be the only way forward.

Relocate some institutions to other regions

Ghana can learn a lot from Haiti tragedy. One such lesson is the danger entailed in concentrating everything in the capital city of Accra. If you watched events as they unfolded in Haiti, you would think that there was no other city in Haiti but Port Au Prince. The international airport and harbor are all in Port Au Prince. So when both collapsed during the quake, precious lives were needlessly lost because people did not get quick access to emergence medical supplies that came from overseas.

In Ghana, the only international airport and the biggest port are all located within the earthquake prone zone of Accra. Imagine Accra being hit by magnitude 7.0 earthquake and every infrastructure collapsing. In Haiti, all government records were all destroyed during the quake. No birth and death records, no IRS, no passport records, no land records, no court records and no health records. Hardened prisoners escaped from custody and are back on the streets. In the annals of modern human catastrophe, there is no parallel to the hopelessness that engulfed Haiti after the quake. This is the fate of Haiti now.

But Ghana can do better if we start now planning for the future. Fortunately, there are many Ghanaians both at home and in the Diaspora with a lot of experience in emergency preparedness and the government should seek their expertise in formulating a new earthquake policy. The government should start with a non-partisan and non-tribal committee to draw up the new policy. So the president should not don such a committee in the one-tribe garb that has characterized his political appointments to date. This has nothing to do with politics or tribalism. It has everything to do with saving precious Ghanaian lives if and when the big one hits Accra.

Baffour Ennin

Washington, DC