Floods all over

01-08-08
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TORRENTIAL rains this morning flooded some parts of Accra, leaving most of roads impassable. Most residents had to stay indoors till the flood waters receded before coming out of their homes to avoid falling into open drains.
At Teshie Abomah, a middle-aged man who was swept away by the flood waters was rescued by the branches of a Nim tree near a huge drain.
Mr Sammy Adjei, who took the man to hospital, said about 6.00 a.m. he heard people shouting that someone was being swept away by the flood waters.
He said he came out only to find the man trapped by the branches of the tree close to his house.
At Teshie Nungua, some schools declared the day a holiday for their pupils because their classrooms were flooded.
The Mount Mary Preparatory at ‘A’ Life Junction, off the Nungua road, and some buildings along the Teshie-Nungua road were flooded.
At Tabibiano in Teshie, flood waters swept away one side of the main culvert over a stream in the area. The road serves as a main bypass for motorists from Tema, Lashibi and Sakumono through the “bush road” to the Trade Fair site. It was also used as a diversion for motorists during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) conference.
According to the Assembly Member for the area, Mr James Ayiku Narh, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area had been duly informed of the poor nature of the road.
However, he said, nothing had been done and that it was through the communal spirit of the people in the area that the road had been kept in shape.
“We need an urgent response to the situation, since people will not be able to use vehicles on the route. This is beyond the community,” he said.
Mr Abraham Laryea, a resident who corroborated what the assembly member said, indicated that the road helped to ease traffic on the main Teshie-Nungua road, hence the need to give it urgent attention.
Parts of Mataheko were also hit by the floods.
Business at the Goil Filling Station off the Graphic Road delayed because attendants had no shelter under which to stand to offer services. Vehicles that went to the station to be served got stuck in the mud which had piled there.
Workers of a company near the filling station were stranded outside the building as the yard was flooded.
Some hawkers also took cover in front of buildings.
A resident of Mataheko, Mr Fred Tetteh, said as a result of the lack of drainage in the area, his house and other buildings always got flooded during heavy downpours.
He said for eight years he had been complaining to the authorities but nothing had been done about the situation.
At Agege Zone Six, a suburb of Accra some buildings were submerged in floods following the persistent downpour leaving in its wake, enormous destruction of property, reports Naa Lamiley Bentil .
Electronic items such as television sets, standing fans, furniture and beds were all submerged in the floods.
One of the residents, told the Daily Graphic that they saw the water gushing into their rooms at about 3:00 a.m and quickly came out of their rooms to ascertain the problem since they had not experienced such an incident before.
He said, when they came out, they saw that the water was unable to flow as it had been blocked by a drain presently under-construction.
He said they were relieved only after the men in the compound acted swiftly to break the concrete that was preventing the easy flow of the rain water to the other end.
They have, therefore, appealed to the contractor to look at the designing of the drain to avert a future occurrence.
At the time the Daily Graphic got to the place, residents, both men and women were collecting rain water from their rooms.
They appealed to the Metro Roads Department of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to rehabilitate roads in the area since they had become virtually immotorable after heavy downpours.