Central floods: Death toll rises to 10

At least 10 people have been confirmed dead after thunderstorms and heavy rains wreaked havoc in parts of the Central Region in the past four days. The thunderstorm and rains also caused damage to infrastructure, collapsing buildings.

The Regional Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Sandy Amartey, confirmed in an interview with Emefa Apawu on Class FM’s 505 news that: “The death toll is 10. It is not a matter of floods but accidents mostly, and in certain cases the rains but not flooding per say,” he explained.

Some houses in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem district caved in and killed three people. Schools and businesses in the region have been forced to shut down as rescue efforts continue in areas hardest hit by the floods. Officials of NADMO have been sending relief items to displaced residents.

Reports indicated that a 35-year-old, Emmanuel Selby, was also electrocuted during the downpour last Saturday and is one of the 10 deceased persons.

Apam District Police Commander ASP Cephas Edzeani, who spoke in an interview with Class News on Monday June 13, said he suspected the victim attempted to remove the live wire with his hand.

Their bodies have been deposited at the morgue. The floods in the Central Region come on the back of recent flooding in Accra following several hours of rain.

The Kwame Nkrumah Circle, where 150 people died last year, in June, as a result of flooding and a resultant gas station explosion, was once again flooded. It was feared that a toddler got killed in the deluge.