A total of 156,161 people were this year affected by flood in the Greater Accra Region.
The cost of damage is estimated at GH₵777,214.00, with hundreds of people rendered homeless.
Registrar of Engineering Council, Mr Wise Ametefe disclosed this last Friday in Accra, at a stakeholder’s forum on flood management organised by Acreaty Ghana Limited.
It brought together participants from the Ministry of Works and Housing, Metropolitan and District Assemblies, Town and Country Planning, as well as civil society groups to deliberate on how to minimize flood situation in the country.
He said in June 2001, flood in the capital resulted in the death of six people, while it was estimated that, the June 3, 2015, the twin fire and flood disaster claimed 156 lives.
Mr Ametefe said there must be an urgent need to adopt innovative mechanism to address flooding, adding that the situation was not as a result of bad engineering of drainage.
He explained that, floods were natural occurrence that may happen at any unexpected day, however, the immediate redress included construction of bigger drains, and frequent dredging of drains and demolishing of properties built on waterways.
Mr Ametefe said damages caused by flood in terms of lives loss, property and economic loss due to disruption of economic activities, had become great concern to most city authorities and government.
He mentioned settlement and encroachment on water courses without adherence to building and bye-laws coupled with low level investment for drainage development and maintenance, as some contributory causes of flood, especially in the capital.
Mr Solomon A. Asoalla, Chief Director of Ministry of Works and Housing said although it was a major responsibility of the Ministry to provide drains, assemblies should be blamed for issuing permit to buildings on waterways.
He said the government through the support from the World Bank would soon construct eight retention ponds, a reservoir designed to catch surface runoff from higher elevation areas.
Managing Partner of Acreaty Ghana, Mrs. Elsie Appau-Klu said the government loses millions of revenues anytime flood occured.
“The situation is pathetic that anytime it rains companies lose a lot of working time and revenue as a result of people not going to work on time,” she said.
BY BERNARD BENGHAN
