ACCRA, Ghana — Catastrophic flooding and landslides brought on by days of heavy rainfall have claimed at least 24 lives in the capital cities of Ghana and Ivory Coast, authorities announced Tuesday, as rescue workers continued pulling stranded residents from buildings swallowed by floodwaters.
In Ghana’s capital, Accra, entire structures and roadways were underwater by Monday, cutting off access to multiple parts of the city as well as the neighboring city of Tema.
At least 12 deaths have been confirmed in Ghana. Among the victims were a mother and her child, both swept away in the Achimota-Agbogbloshie district. Alex King Nartey, a spokesperson for the Ghana National Fire Service, shared that information with The Associated Press.
Across the border in Ivory Coast, several days of rainfall caused flooding that killed more than a dozen people — the majority of them in the Attécoubé and Yopougon municipalities within the capital city of Abidjan, according to the Minister of National Cohesion Myss Belmonde Dogo.
Local media in the region reported that at least nine of those who died were found buried under rubble in the Mossikro neighborhood, following rains that began on Saturday.
Footage circulating from Accra showed residents wading through chest-high water to help neighbors escape, while cars sat abandoned on roads completely overtaken by floodwaters.
Nartey described access to the hardest-hit neighborhoods as “a big problem” for emergency responders, who were forced to call in military assistance. By Tuesday morning, several areas of the city remained partially underwater.
Ghana’s National Disaster Management Organisation reported that emergency calls started flooding in around 7 a.m. Monday as homeowners discovered water rushing into their residences. “The whole place was flooded. It’s alarming,” said Mariam Dongyela Millah, deputy director of communications at the disaster agency.
The Ghana Meteorological Agency issued a warning to residents of Accra to brace for additional rainfall throughout the coming week.
Deadly flooding is a recurring crisis across parts of Africa. The World Meteorological Organization notes that Africa is among the world’s most vulnerable regions to extreme weather, even though the continent contributes only a small share of global greenhouse gas emissions.
