At least 24 people were killed across Ghana on the weekend after severe floods swept away houses, the chief of the West African country’s disaster management agency said on Monday.
“The national figure has gone up to 24 … and we are doing everything possible to rescue those who are still trapped by the floods and provide relief items to them,” said Kofi Portuphy, coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation.
Three regions, including the coastal capital, Accra, are most affected by the floods, triggered by heavy rains that pounded the country on Sunday and cut off electrity and water supplies.
“This is a disaster for the country as we have lost lives and property running into millions of cedis [Ghanaian currency],” he said.
In Ashaiman in the Greater Accra region, the torrential rains paralysed many parts of the sprawling municipality, forcing some victims to spend the night on rooftops after their homes were submerged in water.
Among those killed are four children aged between three and 12 years.
Two of the victims were found trapped in the Ashaiman tunnel underneath the expressway linking Accra and the industrial port town of Tema.
Portuphy said 12 of the dead were recorded in Ghana’s Central region, 11 in Greater Accra and one in the inland Volta region. — AFP