Vehicles floating in flood water
Vehicles and lifeless bodies are still being recovered from floodwaters three days after a torrential rain triggered one of Accra’s deadliest floods in recent years.
The development highlights the scale of the disaster that has claimed at least 15 lives.
The latest grim discovery was made yesterday at Alajo, where the body of an unidentified man was found inside a commercial minibus, popularly known as a trotro, that had been washed into a gutter during Monday’s downpour.
Residents inspecting the flooded area discovered the vehicle and found the body trapped inside. The circumstances surrounding the man’s death remain unclear, with authorities yet to identify the victim or determine how he became trapped in the vehicle.
The discovery has renewed concerns over the lingering dangers posed by floodwaters that have failed to recede in some communities, particularly Alajo, where submerged vehicles, debris and stagnant water continue to dominate the landscape.
Briefing Parliament on Tuesday, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, disclosed that at least 12 people had died as of Tuesday morning, while seven others remained missing following the floods. The latest recovery at Alajo and some other communities brings the reported death toll to at least 15.
According to the minister, the floods displaced 7,761 households and affected more than 38,000 people nationwide after hours of torrential rainfall overwhelmed drainage systems in several parts of Accra.
Government has directed officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to continue search, rescue and recovery operations while assessing the full extent of the destruction caused by the disaster.
Alajo remains among the hardest-hit communities. Apart from the unidentified victim found inside the trotro, three residents reportedly lost their lives in the area, including two young men who were electrocuted after rising floodwaters entered their homes and came into contact with electrical appliances.
Police have identified the two victims as 26-year-old Adamu Abubakar and 27-year-old Faisal Ankrah. Their bodies have since been buried.
Officials of NADMO, assisted by residents, recovered the bodies from the flooded community and conveyed them to the Mamobi Polyclinic.
Elsewhere, an STC bus was swept away by raging floodwaters at Achimota-Abofu after the heavy rains submerged sections of the road. Eyewitnesses said the force of the floodwaters carried the vehicle away, causing panic among residents.
The floods also paralysed activities at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange transport terminal, where commercial drivers and their conductors climbed onto the roofs of their trotro buses to escape rising floodwaters.
Some remained stranded on the rooftops for hours and even ate their meals there as the terminal became inundated.
Videos circulating on social media showed several partially submerged minibuses with drivers stranded on their roofs, while passengers were left stranded after transport services were temporarily suspended.
The torrential rains, which started from Sunday evening to Monday afternoon, submerged major roads, disrupted businesses and traffic, and forced residents in low-lying communities to flee their homes.
With floodwaters still lingering in parts of the capital three days later, recovery efforts continue as authorities search for missing persons and assess the full impact of the disaster.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah