Accra floods again

Spread April 28/2008

Story: Charles Benoni Okine

A three-hour downpour in Accra yesterday again resulted in flooding in most parts of the city, including parts of Adabraka, the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, New Gbawe and Mallam.
Although there were no reports of death and extensive damage to property, some houses and offices were flooded.
At the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle, the flood waters completely took over the premises of the Fikoda GOIL Filling Station, bringing business there to a virtual halt.
A tour of the city showed that the premises of PHC Motors, dealers in Tata and Chevy vehicles, and the area around the Royalhouse Chapel were also flooded.
A giant billboard mounted by ddp, an advertising company, also fell onto the road, creating a traffic jam for motorists from the Awudome Cemetery side of the road from the Nkrumah Circle.
The street around the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle itself was badly flooded, leaving many vehicles stuck in the water, a situation which created temporary jobs for some of the residents around who helped to push the vehicles out of the water for a fee.
Around the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, the situation was not different, with water completely taking over the circle and its surroundings.
The Odaw River was filled with tonnes of floating rubbish which poured into the streets as the river overflowed its banks.
Most of the drains which were too small to contain a lot of water at a time were choked with rubbish, forcing the water to run onto the streets.
At the time of going to press, the flood waters in most of the areas had started to recede and owners of the property were busily cleaning up the mess.