I KNOW many optimists in Ghana and beyond will have issues with my rather gloomy title for a write-up. Please indulge me as you read along and you will come to the realisation that I mean well — I seek to bring our national focus on the current situation in Turkey and Syria and ask ourselves: As a leadership and people, have we “put a cup of water by our side, as our neighbour’s beard is on fire”, as the old adage says?
The week brought along with it much not-too-good news as citizens were welcomed with increased fuel prices and utility bills, pensioners picketing the Finance Ministry to protect their investments and the state of a seeming “hopelessness” as we prayed that our beloved son, Christian Atsu, was rescued from the rubble of the earthquake in Turkey, alive. As I monitored international news channels on developments on the latter, I asked myself many weird and real questions: If Atsu had known that the disaster awaited him, would he have gone home that dawn? Would he survive if he weren’t on the 9th floor of the building?
How much preparation can avert an earthquake’s huge impact? Did the leadership of Turkey fail to plan? Were there signs and expert voices pointing to imminent disaster? Then I began to convert some of these rather mundane questions into indicators and earthquake checklists for Ghana. Have we started thinking to pick lessons from the situation in Turkey and Syria, should we find ourselves in a similar natural occurrence or Ghana is exempt because we are a “Christian” nation, loved by God? Hahahahaha!
Earthquake Data In Ghana
I experienced the first earthquake in my life on December 12 2022, whilst at a function at the Calvary Methodist Church, near the National Museum, in Accra. For a moment, I felt the earth shake under my feet and my first reaction was to “insult” the construction workers on-site at the event ground. It was a chapel under construction. Conscious and attentive to details, I am always nosing for news. I quickly picked up my phone to read news from the many news portals and social media handles. There I saw tweets and news reports of an “earthquake” just as I had experienced it, being reported as moving underground in some parts of Accra. At long last, I believed that Ghana is earthquake-prone. I had taken with a pinch of salt reports that environs like McCarthy Hill, Gbawe etcetera in Accra have been experiencing earthquakes.
Thankfully, data is available on earthquakes in Ghana, since the 17th Century.
Cities like Accra, Tema, Ho, Cape Coast, and Takoradi, as well as important installations in the south of Ghana such as those for communication, water, oil and gas, electricity and some iconic national infrastructure all lie within areas exposed to earthquakes.
Earthquake hazards in Ghana are generally determined by three main sources, the coastal boundary fault, which lies parallel to its Coast, the Akuapim fault zone made up of a series of faults along the Akuapim Mountain range, and the Ivory Coast fault, which occurs in the South West corner of the country.
Past earthquakes in Ghana and the examination of current conditions by the Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) have shown that the full range of secondary effects like fires, flooding from broken pipes and dams, tsunamis, landslides/rock falls and liquefaction is all possible from strong ground shaking in the country.
In April 2021 the Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Eric Nana Agyemang at a conference to deliberate on the report by a special committee which was tasked to develop a comprehensive framework for ‘Refocusing National Earthquake Preparedness and Response within the country’, noted that the West African earthquake fault zone in Ghana gets to Ho, moves through Eastern Region and through Greater Accra to Nyanyano in the Central Region. It is bewildering to know that almost all critical state infrastructures are on the fault line. Namely Tema Harbour, Kotoka International Airport, Akosombo Dam, Weija Dam and, unfortunately, our Jubilee House,”.
Seismic Codes
Seismic codes or earthquake codes are building codes designed to protect property and life in buildings in case of earthquakes. The need for such codes is reflected in the saying, “Earthquakes don’t kill people—buildings do.” Or in an expanded version, “Earthquakes do not injure or kill people. Poorly built manmade structures injure and kill people.
Seismic codes were created and developed as a response to major earthquakes which have caused devastation in highly populated regions. Often these are revised based on knowledge gained from recent earthquakes and research findings, and as such, they are constantly evolving. There are many seismic codes used worldwide. Most codes at their root share common fundamental approaches regarding how to design buildings for earthquake effects, but will differ in their technical requirements and will have language addressing local geologic conditions, common construction types, historic issues, etc.
In the case of Turkey, all the global indicators and standards on the seismic code met the standards and looked good on paper but the reality on the ground proved otherwise. Are our buildings and structures in Ghana strong enough or meet the standards? We better start thinking about this.
Expert Voices
Citi Fm, a private radio station in Accra, on 24th January 2021, reported on a presentation by an expert, calling on the nation to rise to prepare for an unforeseen higher magnitude of earthquake in the country.
BY Gabriel Nii Otu Ankrah