Rainfall causes havoc in parts of Accra

A downpour that hit parts of Accra last Tuesday caused havoc to properties across various areas of the capital.

The about an hour downpour, accompanied by a rainstorm, brought down billboards, uprooted trees and ripped-off school buildings, especially in the La Nkwatanang-Madina Municipality.

The rainstorm left commuters stranded as some of the roads became impassable due to flooding.

Areas

The areas mainly affected included Adenta, Madina, Legon and East Legon, where a solar panel structure in the parking area of A&C Mall, East Legon, collapsed following heavy rains, damaging more than 80 vehicles.

A tree fell on the administration block of the Accra College of Education. 

At Kotobabi in Accra, one person was reported injured when a tree fell on a vehicle near the police station.

Police and personnel of the National Disaster Management Organisation were deployed to the area to clear the debris and cut the trees to create access for commuters.

Moreover, some basic educational institutions had their roofs ripped off by the rainstorm, thereby preventing students from having classes yesterday.

They are the Madina 1 Junior High School, Queen of Peace School, Madina JHS, SDA Basic School, Presec Staff Basic School, Redco 1 & 2 School and Madina Estate 1&2 Schools.

Among other things, a shed used as canteen at the Madina 1 JHS, was razed to the ground.

The La Nkwatanang-Madina Municipal Director of Education, Kean Appiah Adjei, who toured the affected schools yesterday told the Daily Graphic that the destruction caused to the schools was “major”.

He explained that in some of the schools, the roofs were totally ripped off while others were partial and that classes were not held in the affected classes yesterday because of the damage caused by the rainstorm in the area.

Classrooms

“In some of the schools, the classrooms have been ripped off and so they cannot be used because the teachers and students cannot sit under the sun with no roofs over their heads,” he said.

 Professor Christopher Adjei (4th from right), Global Alumni President of the college, presenting a cheque for GH¢10,000 to Professor Samuel Atintono (3rd from right), Principal of the college

Mr Adjei said with the roofs of the schools, the downpour affected some teaching and learning materials, especially the books of students that were kept in them.

Yesterday, he said students of the Presec Staff School and the La Nkwantanan Cluster of Schools had to dry their books and other learning materials under the sun.

Asked what measures were being put in place for the affected schools to ensure that teaching and learning went on, he said, for instance, putting some classes together was impossible due to their large sizes.

“Where it is possible, we are doing that, where it isn’t, we are at the mercy of the weather,” he emphasised.

For his part, the Madina, Adenta, Abokobi Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Christian Yaw Adinkra, said although it was a natural disaster, there was a need for an emergency step to take to reroof the damaged schools since they could not be used immediately because of their current state.

Closure

Otherwise, he said, the schools would have to be closed until they were fixed since teachers and students could not be exposed to the vagaries of the weather.

“Our teachers and our students would not be exposed to the vagaries of the weather. This is because the situation would not promote conducive teaching and learning,” he said.

Mr Adinkra said for instance, Presec School and the Madina 1 JHS should be closed for the municipal assembly to take immediate steps to fix the roofs.

Again, he said at Presec, the place was not habitable for teachers and students.

The Accra College of Education suffered severe damage as a result of the rainstorm that hit the city. Several trees serving as shade for the students and a windbreak for the schools were uprooted, while the roof of a teachers’ bungalow was ripped off.

The uprooted trees brought down electricity cables resulting in temporary blackout on the compound. Some of the uprooted trees also damaged the school administration block, while others obstructed vehicular movement within the compound.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Principal of the college, Prof. Samuel Atintono, said he was grateful that the havoc happened at the time people were indoors.

He said the incident had disrupted academic work as an interim assessment examination being written by students had to be suspended because there was no power to print the questions.

According to him some of the louvre blades in the halls of residence of the students removed, which resulted in the rain flooding their halls of residence.

He appealed to the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), and alumni of the school to assist the college to get back on its feet.

Meanwhile, the Global President of the Alumni Association of the college, Prof. Christopher Adjei Okpoti, who heard of the disaster and visited the college, together with other members of the alumni presented GH¢10,000 and promised that the association would return with further support.

Presenting the amount, Prof. Okpoti specifically requested that the amount be used to purchase the louvre blades for replacement at the hall of residence of the students.

He said the association was rallying all former students of the college to contribute to addressing the impact of the rainstorm.