Accra flooding: Crisis of attitude, not just infrastructure

Every year, like clockwork, Accra and its surrounding municipalities find themselves drowning, literally, in the aftermath of heavy rains.

The flooding that occurred yesterday on Sunday, May 18, 2025, was yet another grim reminder of the city’s vulnerability.

In just under three hours of rain, roads were submerged, homes were inundated, and several lives and properties were lost.

Areas such as Weija, Kaneshie, Adabraka, Adentan-Dodowa, and parts of Tema, including Adjei-Kojo Kanewu, were severely affected. 

But beyond the predictable headlines and finger-pointing, it’s time we face an uncomfortable truth: our attitude as citizens is at the heart of this crisis.

Man-made

It’s convenient to blame the floods on climate change, poor planning, or inadequate drainage systems—and yes, these are valid concerns.

But they only scratch the surface. 

The real issue lies in our behaviour: the indiscriminate dumping of waste, construction on waterways, and general disregard for environmental rules and communal responsibility.

The consequences of these actions are not just theoretical—they are visible, costly, and increasingly deadly.

Take the Adjei-Kojo Kanewu community in the Tema West Municipality, for instance.

Residents have raised an alarm over the activities of Letap Industries, a pharmaceutical company allegedly responsible for blocking key drainage channels in the area.

Their actions, whether intentional or negligent, have caused severe backflow during rains, leaving homes flooded and families displaced.

Elsewhere, the stretch from Awudome Roundabout to the Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange was submerged, immobilising vehicles and turning roads into rivers.

It was only the swift intervention of local youth that prevented accidents involving open drains and submerged potholes.

We must ask ourselves: is this the Accra we want to build?

Government alone can’t

Over the years, successive governments have made various attempts to address the flood menace. From constructing drainage systems to launching the National Sanitation Day initiative, the efforts have been visible, yet the results remain minimal.

Why? Because no amount of infrastructure can fix a broken mindset.

The government must go beyond speeches and introduce enforcement-led solutions. Bring back the Town Council system, where environmental officers regularly inspected homes and fined households for poor sanitation.

Reinstate sanitation task forces in communities with the authority to penalise indiscriminate dumping of waste and enforce communal clean-up exercises.

Without enforcement, policies remain paper tigers—impressive on paper but toothless in reality.

Role of community, leadership

Our chiefs, assembly members, and opinion leaders must rise to the occasion.

Sanitation must be prioritised at community meetings and churches.

Residents must be mobilised for communal labour and education campaigns to change behaviour. National Sanitation Day must be revived not as a ceremonial day but as a civic obligation.

Those who refuse to participate should face consequences, not just to punish, but to instil a sense of shared responsibility.

The youth, too, have a role to play.

The heroic efforts of young people who redirected traffic and assisted stranded commuters during the flood are a glimpse of the power we hold when we work together.

However, that energy must now be channelled into prevention, not just emergency response.

Excuses over

Flooding in Accra is no longer a technical issue—it is a cultural and attitudinal failure. Until we begin to see sanitation as a shared national responsibility rather than a government duty, we will keep mourning avoidable disasters.

The rain will come again next year.

The question is: Will we be ready, or will we keep blaming everyone but ourselves?

Volunteerism must be recognised as a critical tool in the fight against flooding in Ghana.

The youth, in particular, hold the power to make a significant difference within their communities by taking sanitation seriously as a civic duty. 

Instead of waiting for government intervention, young people can organise regular clean-up exercises, desilt gutters, clear refuse from public spaces, and educate others on proper waste disposal.

When the youth rise to take charge of their environment, they become active contributors to national development rather than passive observers of recurring disasters.

The writer is a development communicator, volunteer advocate and change agent.

E-mail: dennisgayei26@gmail.com