When Accra Flooded: How structural vulnerabilities and climate dynamics turned heavy rain into disaster

The rains began late on Sunday and by dawn on Monday, June 29, large parts of Ghana's capital had been transformed into a landscape of submerged roads, stranded vehicles and flooded homes.

 

What started as a downpour quickly escalated into another devastating flood event, bringing daily life in Accra to a standstill.

 

At least three people reportedly lost their lives in the Alajo community in suspected electrocution incidents after floodwaters engulfed their homes. Other areas reported unconfirmed cases of flood-related deaths and missing persons.

 

Across the city, hundreds of residents watched helplessly as muddy water swept through homes, shops and warehouses, destroying property, household belongings and business inventories.

 

Commercial activity ground to a halt as major roads became impassable, leaving commuters stranded for hours.

 

As the situation worsened, the Ministry of the Interior issued a public safety advisory urging residents to stay away from flooded roads, avoid attempting to cross fast-moving water and report emergencies to the appropriate authorities. Electricity supply to some communities was also disconnected as a precaution to prevent further electrocution incidents.

 

Emergency response teams from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana National Fire Service and other security agencies were deployed across affected communities to rescue trapped residents and assist families displaced by the floods.

 

Earlier in the day, the Ghana Meteorological Agency had forecast widespread thunderstorms and rainfall across southern Ghana, warning that a weak to moderate rainstorm moving westward along the Togo-Benin coastline would bring increased cloud cover and unstable weather conditions.

 

Yet, while the rain triggered the flooding, experts say the disaster itself reflects a much deeper problem.

 

More than a rainfall event

 

Accra's recurring floods are no longer simply a consequence of heavy rainfall. They are the result of structural vulnerabilities interacting with changing climate dynamics.

 

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events, but the scale of destruction witnessed after each storm is largely determined by how the city has been planned, developed and managed over time.

 

In essence, heavy rainfall becomes a disaster only when urban systems are unable to cope.

 

Over the past four decades, Accra has experienced rapid urban expansion. Housing estates, commercial developments and roads have spread across the city, often outpacing investments in drainage and other critical infrastructure.

 

The replacement of natural landscapes with concrete roads, pavements and rooftops has significantly reduced the ground's ability to absorb rainwater. Instead, stormwater rushes across hard surfaces, overwhelming drains and increasing the likelihood of flash floods.

 

Compounding the problem is the widespread encroachment on wetlands, floodplains, river buffers and natural drainage channels.

 

These ecosystems once acted as natural reservoirs, absorbing excess rainfall and slowing runoff before releasing water gradually into rivers and streams. As urban development has consumed these spaces, much of the city's natural flood protection has disappeared.

 

Accra's drainage network is also struggling to cope with increasing volumes of runoff.

 

Many drains are undersized or poorly connected, while years of inadequate maintenance have left numerous channels heavily silted or blocked.

The city's persistent challenge with indiscriminate waste disposal has further reduced drainage capacity. Plastic waste and other refuse clog drains and culverts, preventing stormwater from flowing freely during intense rainfall.

 

Urban planners have also pointed to weak enforcement of land-use regulations. Unauthorized developments, informal settlements in flood-prone areas and inadequate development control continue to increase the number of people and properties exposed to flood hazards.

 

Climate change is intensifying the risk

 

Accra's climate naturally features two rainy seasons—the major season from March to July and a minor season between September and November.

However, climate variability is making rainfall increasingly unpredictable. Storms are becoming more intense, rainfall is falling within shorter periods and flash flooding is occurring more frequently.

 

Climate scientists warn that global warming is expected to further increase the intensity of extreme precipitation events, raise urban temperatures through the heat island effect and create greater uncertainty in seasonal rainfall patterns.

 

Although climate change is not the sole cause of flooding in Accra, it amplifies existing weaknesses in urban planning, infrastructure and environmental management.

 

The latest floods underscore the need for a shift from reactive disaster response to proactive climate resilience.

 

Experts argue that reducing flood risk will require integrated urban planning that protects wetlands, floodplains and waterways while investing in modern stormwater drainage infrastructure.

 

Nature-based solutions—including urban forests, rain gardens, permeable pavements and wetland restoration—could help cities absorb more rainfall naturally instead of allowing water to rush into already overwhelmed drains.

 

Equally important are stronger enforcement of planning regulations, improved solid waste management and infrastructure designed using updated rainfall projections and flood-risk mapping.

 

Early warning systems and better community preparedness can also ensure weather forecasts translate into timely action that saves lives.

 

As Accra counts the cost of yet another flood disaster, one lesson remains clear: the city cannot control when it rains, but it can determine how well it prepares for the next storm.

 

Until structural vulnerabilities are addressed alongside the realities of a changing climate, heavy rainfall will continue to expose the fault lines in Ghana's rapidly growing capital.

 

by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Kofi Adu Domfeh writes: Our vulnerabilities are exposed by the extreme weather incidents

In just two hours of rainstorm in parts of Ghana, tens of families and households are displaced as their homes are devastated by the storm.

 

Affected residents of Jachie in the Ashanti region have had to seek shelter with friends and relatives spared by the weather disaster in May 2024.

 

And the consequences of their predicament are telling – loss of property, dejection, homelessness, shattered livelihoods.

 

In a discomforting appeal, the local assembly member for the community pleads with people accommodating displaced residents to spare the young girls of unsolicited sex, which could lead to unwanted and teenage pregnancies.

 

The man’s fear of sexual abuse of girls seeking shelter from neighbors tells of the widespread vulnerabilities of local communities to the adverse impact of extreme weather conditions.

 

Meanwhile, the flooding of urban areas, especially Accra and Kumasi, is more profound. In some instances, trees are uprooted, as some fall on vehicles and destroy power cables. These floods from the rains leave roads inundated, homes soaked and people stranded. And sometimes, people die.

 

Scientists and weather officers have warned of more of such extreme weather incidents.

 

More than floods

 

In reality, the rains are coming after the intense heatwaves recorded the past months and there are more extremes.

 

The theme for this year’s World Environment Day, "Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience", highlights the importance of restoring degraded lands and ecosystems, combating desertification and land degradation, and building resilience to droughts and other climate-related disasters.

 

This theme aims to raise awareness about the critical role healthy lands play in supporting biodiversity, mitigating climate change, and ensuring human well-being.

 

It encourages individuals, governments, and organizations to take action to restore and protect the world's lands, forests, and natural resources.

 

Going beyond Green Ghana

 

Working towards a sustainable and resilient future calls for intentional resilience building.

 

The Green Ghana Day initiative is therefore laudable as an environmental stewardship and collective responsibility to plant millions of tree seedlings across the country every year.

 

The collective responsibility of individuals, communities, corporate entities, and government institutions to plant and nurture planted trees to maturity need to be sustained as a mitigation drive to combat the escalating climate crisis.

 

But while this environmental conservation activity is commendable, Ghana’s resilience building and promotion would need more concerted effort.

 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already initiated a project of engaging local assemblies to integrate climate change adaptation strategies into their development plans.

 

Upgrading the climate consciousness of the assemblies is an important step towards addressing the increasing vulnerability of communities to climate change impacts.

 

These communities are faced with the realities of severe temperatures that could wreak havoc in food production, infrastructure development, health promotion and general livelihoods.

 

The activities at the local level remain critical for vulnerable communities to cope with the realities of climate change, while exploring opportunities to build resilience.

 

It has become imperative to look at:

 

- Reforestation and afforestation efforts

- Soil conservation and sustainable agriculture practices

- Wetland restoration and conservation

- Combating land degradation and desertification

- Promoting sustainable land use and management practices

- Infrastructure resilience building

By addressing these issues, communities can work towards a more sustainable and resilient future for all.

 

Kofi Adu Domfeh is a journalist and Climate Reality Leader. Email: adomfeh@gmail.com

 

Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms and wildfires going from bad to worse – new report

The number of weather, climate and water-related disasters has increased by a factor of five over the past 50 years

Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms and wildfires are going from bad to worse, breaking records with ever alarming frequency, says UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.

He however observed there is nothing natural about the new scale of these disasters; they are the price of humanity’s fossil fuel addiction.

The message comes at the back of the launch of the World Meteorological Organization's United in Science Report, which provides an overview of the most recent science related to climate change, its impacts and responses.

“The report is a shameful reminder that resilience-building is the neglected half of the climate equation,” said Guterres. “It is a scandal that developed countries have failed to take adaptation seriously, and shrugged off their commitments to help the developing world”.

Countries in all continents of the world are experiencing colossal floods, prolonged and severe droughts and excessive heatwaves, with daily losses of more than $200 million dollars.

“This year’s United in Science report shows climate impacts heading into uncharted territories of destruction. Yet each year we double-down on this fossil fuel addiction, even as the symptoms get rapidly worse,” said the UN Secretary-General.

At the recent Africa Climate Week, civil society actors noted that the Loss and Damage resulting from anthropogenic climate change unjustly afflicts African people.

They observed that “cyclones Idai, record flooding and extreme wildfires and climate-induced droughts in the Horn of Africa, southern Africa and the Sahel, in the wake of locust plagues attributed to climate change are unjust legacies for people in Africa that has adversely affected the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the African people”.

World leaders pledged in the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and build climate resilience. But the United in Science report shows that the targets are still way off track.

“Climate action is stalling on key fronts, and the poorest countries and people are being hardest hit,” said the UN Secretary-General. “But no country is immune. Our climate is heating rapidly”.

António Guterres wants the Glasgow decision to be delivered in full. The decision urges developed countries to collectively provide $40 billion dollars a year in new adaptation finance. 

“But it is clearly not enough,” he acknowledged. “Adaptation finance needs are set to grow to at least $300 billion dollars a year by 2030; at the very least, 50 per cent of all climate finance must go to adaptation”.

All countries must boost their national climate ambition every year, until we are on track, he added.

by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Floods across Africa: “Without Climate Action we’ll be queuing for Noah’s Ark”, says Greenpeace Africa

Rains have increasingly been torrential in the past months, striking large parts of Africa, in unprecedented intensity in decades, causing at least dozens of deaths, displacement of more than one million people. 
 

Greenpeace Africa calls on Africa’s leaders to provide immediate aid to those affected, but also take action to tackle the climate crisis.

“From floods to drought, extreme weather is a direct consequence of bad energy policies, the senseless burning of fossil fuels and reckless destruction of our forests,” said Amos Wemanya, Greenpeace Africa’s Campaigner.

“This continent must not wait for a miracle to avoid the next flood. Without breaking away from coal, protecting our rainforests and oceans, transforming our farming and agriculture, and without bringing the US back to the Paris Agreement, we will all end up queuing for Noah’s Ark,” concluded Wemanya.

With more extreme weather upon us, Greenpeace Africa will continue to stand with youth striking for the climate.

Ahead of the November 29 School Friday for the Climate (Fridays for Future), Youth climate leaders across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and other affected countries will use Greenpeace Africa’s channels to continue to demand urgent action from their leaders.