Residents of Accra count losses after rains
- Mabel Asante went to bed on Tuesday night with plans to take her six-month old baby boy to the clinic for weighing in the morning. What she saw when she woke up was a total destruction of the uncertain life she already had. Officially, nine people are confirmed dead as torrential rains destroyed properties worth thousands of dollars in Ghana's capital, Accra.
Mabel was not one of the dead, but the little hope she has of life seemed to have left her. ''On a normal day I struggle to make ends meet for myself and my son here,'' she says, while rocking little Paul to sleep. ''I only finished getting the kiosk done four months ago after my landlady threw me out. Now that too is gone.''
The rains started on Monday afternoon at a time when the traditional rainy season should have ended about two months ago. Mabel and her son live in a make-shift wooden structure directly opposite the largest storm drain in the centre of Accra.
She had managed to salvage a few cooking pots, straw mat and other odds and ends. By the time I got there, several wooden structures had been washed away and broken into the brown, flowing mixture of water and rubbish but Mabel says it was much worse in the beginning.
''You are lucky to have met the water like this. Around five this morning the water had totally filled the drain and you could not even see the main road because the water had submerged it.'' Mabel said several of her neighbours who could not get out on time were also washed away by the floodwaters but she could not give an exact number.
On the ground, I counted twelve dead people who were being pulled from the banks of the storm drain. At the time of writing it seemed officials had not added these victims to their count. The police were on hand in other parts of the city to assist people with the few belongings they had left and also to prevent opportunists who were taking advantage of the situation from extorting and robbing victims.Mabel Asante shields her baby from the blazing sun. Her wooden kiosk was washed away.
A few meters away at the Nkrumah Circle lorry station, stranded passengers were paying up to three times the normal rates to board the few working buses available. The station master at the Baikoye Taxi Rank explained the situation.
''Some of the drivers leave their cars here overnight because they do not have parking spaces at home. It is normally secure but today, the rain has caused a lot of damage.'' He took me round, showing me how water had seeped into all the cars there. Mechanics were making a lot of profit, since they were needed to attend to the many engines that had experienced electrical faults.
All around us were rubbish collectors, also making a brisk trade from the shops that were emptying their spaces of the destroyed goods like mobile phones, baby products and other general materials. Authorities have been warning affected people to be careful of electrical gadgets submerged in water, especially as there have been widespread reports of electrocutions.
The Electricity Company of Ghana disconnected supply to many parts of the city to help emergency services access affected victims without the fear of electrocution.
Mechanics make extra income as more vehicle got soaked up
The President of Ghana John Evans Atta Mills soon passed by the area and assured the people that help was on the way. Hours later, the situation remained as it was. Later, the Mayor of Accra also visited affected residents to urge calm in these troubled times. But the question remains that these floods are an annual issue.
''We are tired of these government people,'' said a frustrated Mabel. ''For as long as we can remember they always come round and say nice things when the floods come. When it is over we do not see anything.''
For years, the capital's drainage system has borne the brunt of annual floods and how there has been no remedy for the situation remains a mystery. Ghana's Ministry of Education issued a directive for all schools to be closed for the day, while the Transport ministry also cancelled all railway services. The state disaster management arm, NADMO, was also cranking up efforts to get the situation under control. Meanwhile, meteorologists are predicting more rain in the coming days.
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Lid sinds January 2013
