Increased Floods Intensify in West Africa
The 2016 wet season in West Africa has been particularly intense. In Ghana deadly downpours have caused massive flooding in the capital city and along the Cape Coast, leaving at least 10 people dead.
According to analysts from National Disaster Management, June 2016 has been the wettest month of the year with an average rainfall of 178mm. Heavy downpours in the Central Region of Ghana have also caused massive destruction of houses and public infrastructures, leaving the local communities in disastrous conditions.
350.org’s local group in Ghana (350 G-ROC) visited Ada Totope, a fishing community with a population of about 3,000 in the Greater Accra region. This is one of the coastal communities harshly impacted by rising sea levels and flooding. Some reports suggest that the community has seen rising sea level, washing away more than 20 homes over the last 30 years.
‘The heavy rains have not only completely destroyed our yields, but they won’t save our cocoa production as they came very late’ said the Chief of the area Theophilus Agbakla.
A local church has also been adversely affected by the flooding. The pastor and congregation of this place of worship were forced to evacuate. Now community members are appealing for expedite action to build a second phase of a much stronger sea defense, which is likely to resist further disasters.
The recent floods in Ghana are part of a repetitive cycles observed in the last fifteen years which has negatively affected the source of livelihood for communities such as Ada Totope which survive on fishing for income. High rates of communicable diseases have been observed as hundreds of people forced to migrate.
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