‘De flood destroy our house’ – Ghanaians bore over heavy rains

By Favour Nunoo

“De rains flood my house so we go take shelter for somewhere safe, buy de time we return de rains spoil our house.”

One of de victims of de heavy rains wey don cause serious flooding and destruction for Ghana, Osman Zakari tell BBC Pidgin about de impact on en family, dia house and farmland.

“I dey pray for rains make I use water my farm crops for more yield, but de rains rather come destroy all my farm crops sake, I no fit harvest anything wey I produce” Osman Zakari talk.

De floods make life difficult give he den en family sake of dem dey depend on proceeds from de farm for survival.

“What dey keep us together be de kindness of some of our community people, with time we go return to de farm and start farming all over again” Osman add.

Rains destroy family home

BBC

Residents across Ghana dey experience de harsh impact of floods which dey make life difficult in de country.

De rains destroy homes, farmlands, businesses, roads den stuff since de start of de rainy season around May dis year.

Over 4000 households displaced dis year alone

Some 4,000 households for dey count dia losses after floods destroy dia homes for Ghana dis year. 

Meanwhile, some over 1000 people dey stranded for Takoradi as dem no fit cross de Highway sake of floods wey hit de area late Tuesday, 21, June, 2022.

People who dey travel from de area for business, work den others for return to safety as floodwaters take over de roads. 

“I dey inside big trouble…we make stuck in de rainwater, see inside my car make full.

I stop de engine but de car make full, I dey suspend now, help us in prayers…my car turn pool of water” one distressed road user share video of en current situation for Takoradi. 
De rains wey start somewhere May/June dis year cause massive flooding impact de lives of many Ghanaians.

Impact of floods for Ghana between 2015 and 2020

Report wey National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) put together dey show say de impact of floods for Ghana be very massive.

  • Between 2015 and 2020, floods kill 510 people for Ghana. 
  • People wey injure sake of floods between 2015 and 2020 be 309. 
  • Within de period under review, Ghana record 1,446 flood events.
  • De floods between 2015 and 2020 destroy 54,744 houses den 136,563 acres of farmland.

Kasoa: New flood prone areas dey emerge

One of de key features of de floods dis year be how new flood zones start dey develop. 

Although flooding be rampant for areas like Circle-Odornaa, Kaneshie Lorry station area, parts of East Legon, Mataheko den stuff, new areas like Kasoa also experience am.

De floods also displace over 1000 households last week for de Central Region after hours of downpour wey some 1,245 people suffer same challenge for Savannah Region according to NADMO officials.

Popular areas like Kasoa also start dey experience floods in recent times. 
In Kasoa, de cause of flooding be de washing of sand from uphill onto de roads. 

“When de rains come, e dey wash de sand on de uphill onto de roads, we for do something to block de floodwaters” NADMO PRO George Ayisi explain. 

Why Ghana dey experience flooding dis year despite same rainfall volumes

NADMO Officials say de volume of rainfall for Ghana no change from de expected 80mm, so that no be de cause.

NADMO PRO, George Ayisi talk BBC Pidgin say, “places wey no dey flood before start dey flood sake of people dey build on waterways.”

Another important point he make be say de “built areas in Accra dey increase, people dey fill wetlands to put up buildings.”

In de case of Cape Coast, Mr Ayisi believe say “de floods for de Cape coast areas be sake of de spillage of one dam in de area which make full sake of heavy rainfall, so de water dey enter de community” he add. 

Apart from de heavy rainfall, de narrow nature of drains across dey make water spill onto de roads den onwards into communities.

Dzorwulu dey at risk sake of release of parts of Achimota forest

According to NADMO PRO, Mr Ayisi de recent release of parts of Achimota forest to Owoo family go fit turn Dzorwulu into new flooding zone.

“Make govment compensate de Owoo family instead of giving dem land. Sake of e be vegetative area. dzorwulu be low laying area so if dem release de lands e go make de situation bad for there.”

Ghana govment release some parts of de Achimota forest to de original custodians but for experts, dis go create new flood zones.

To avoid dis, dem dey urge govment to protect de Achimota forest which be vegetative cover weu dey soak de rains.

Meanwhile e no seem like de troubles wey Ghanaians dey go through wit de flooding go end now as Ghana Meteo say more rains dey ahead before end of de rainy season around June/July.