Accra’s flooding crisis: A city that cannot continue to drown
When I started journalism more than 20 years ago in 2004, one story I knew would return every year was flooding.
The locations changed.
The victims changed.
The headlines changed.
But the story remained painfully familiar — heavy rains, flooded roads, stranded commuters, damaged homes and repeated promises that “this will never happen again.”
More than two decades later, in 2026, the story has not changed. If anything, it appears to be getting worse.
I still remember a remark from an engineer during one of the routine post-flood inspections: “My reports on flooding in Accra remain the same. I only change the date.”
That observation captures the uncomfortable reality of flooding in Ghana’s capital.
On June 3, 2026, hours of torrential rainfall once again submerged many parts of Accra. Roads became rivers.
Vehicles stalled. Businesses shut down.
Families watched helplessly as water entered homes and swept through communities.
The question remains unavoidable: Why does Accra continue to flood despite decades of investment, planning and repeated lessons?
The answer is not straightforward because flooding in Accra is no longer driven by a single factor.
It is the result of multiple challenges happening at the same time.
Problem
Part of the problem is engineering.
As Accra expands rapidly, drainage systems designed decades ago are increasingly unable to cope with current volumes of stormwater.
More roads, buildings and paved surfaces mean less open land for rainwater to soak naturally into the ground.
When intense rainfall occurs, run-off is generated quickly and overwhelms drains and outfalls.
But engineering alone does not explain what we continue to witness.
Human activity has become one of the most visible contributors to Accra’s flooding crisis.
I remember how the Accra Metropolitan Assembly demolished structures built in watercourses between 2009 and 2015.
Yet every dry season, new developments emerge in the same locations and little appears to happen until the next floods reveal the consequences.
At the same time, Accra has gradually lost many of its natural flood protection systems to bricks and concrete.
The city historically depended not only on drains but also on wetlands, lagoons, marshes and floodplains that stored stormwater and released it gradually
Some of these natural retention systems include the Korle Lagoon, which receives run-off from the Odaw River catchment before discharge into the Gulf of Guinea; the Kpeshie Lagoon around Teshie and La; and the Densu Delta Ramsar Site to the west of the city.
Other important areas include the Sakumono Lagoon, Mukwe Lagoon and sections of the Lafa Stream corridor.
What is often overlooked is that Accra depended on an interconnected network — not one lagoon, one drain or one water body.
Major streams and drainage channels feed into broader outfall systems that determine whether stormwater exits the city efficiently.
When watercourses are blocked, narrowed or built over, water simply finds another route through communities, roads and homes.
As these natural retention areas disappear, rainfall reaches drains faster and increases flood peaks.
This means that no matter how large roadside drains become, they eventually fail if downstream receiving systems cannot carry the water away.
At the same time, poor sanitation practices continue to worsen the problem.
Across many communities, drains meant to transport stormwater have become clogged with plastic waste, silt and debris. During heavy rainfall, these drains lose capacity and overflow.
Cost too high
One of the most striking images after the recent rains was seeing water flow more freely on roads than inside drains.
That image should concern every policymaker and citizen.
Because when rainwater runs on roads instead of through drainage channels, the consequences extend far beyond inconvenience.
Road structures weaken, pavements deteriorate, traffic congestion increases and economic activity slows.
Public funds are repeatedly spent repairing infrastructure that should have lasted much longer.
Speaking previously on the issue, President John Dramani Mahama argued that flooding in Accra is not simply an engineering problem but also one of indiscipline, particularly where people build on watercourses and protected areas.
Accra’s flooding problem is systemic. It reflects weaknesses in urban planning, enforcement, sanitation, infrastructure maintenance, environmental protection and collective civic responsibility. The solution, therefore, cannot remain seasonal drain desilting whenever the rains begin.
Solutions
Accra needs sustained and coordinated action.
This includes expanding and modernising drainage infrastructure, protecting and restoring wetlands, enforcing laws against building on watercourses, improving waste management, maintaining drains continuously and strengthening public education and community responsibility.
There must also be stronger coordination among agencies responsible for drainage, planning and environmental management such as the Hydrological Services Authority, the Town and Country Planning and the local authorities at the regional, municipal and district levels.
Most importantly, flood prevention must become more important than flood response.
Every year, we gather after the rains to count losses, assess damage and make declarations.
Yet the rains always return. Accra cannot continue to normalise flooding as an unavoidable annual event.
A capital city should not stop functioning because of a few hours of rain.
Until we address the root causes of flooding with urgency, discipline and long-term planning, Accra will continue to drown — not because rain falls, but because we have failed to prepare the city to receive it.
