Accra floods: Speed up Odaw dredging – Zanetor

The dredging of the Odaw River and other drainage channels in the capital must be completed within the shortest possible time if any more floods are to be averted, the governing party’s parliamentary aspirant for the Klottey Korle constituency, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has charged authorities.

“We need to move faster with the dredging. If the rains are going to continue like this, we are going to see a lot more [floods]. It does not matter how much with the desilting and cleaning that we do, we also need to clear the bottlenecks that are downstream, otherwise, it will not make any impact to the loss of property and in some cases injury to lives,” she told Class FM’s Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman on Thursday June 9.

Dozens of people had to be evacuated from their homes in Adabraka, in the Greater Accra Region, by personnel from the Ghana Army, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), after they were trapped in their homes and schools during long hours of heavy rains, which flooded several parts of the city.

Dredgers and other heavy-duty machines decongesting the Odaw River located close to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle were all submerged as the floods rose to waist level in some homes.

Dr Agyeman-Rawlings, who visited some of the affected areas, was disheartened by the scale of devastation caused by the floods and pleaded with authorities and the public to be committed to solutions to prevent any disaster, as the rainy season has just started, with more downpour expected in the coming days.

“It requires everyone to make a contribution, so, those who are dealing with waste collection and disposal have to do their bit, the rest of the public also need to do theirs as well,” she added.

Other areas which were affected by Thursday’s downpour include Kaneshie, Avenor, Alajo, the Stanbic Heights area within the Airport Residential Area, the Fiesta Royale area, and the Graphic Road.