Rescue workers in Accra (Photo via Al-Jazeera)
Four days of heavy and steady rain has left at least 10 people dead in the south of Ghana. The streets of Accra have been left under water after the torrential downpours caused widespread flooding earlier this week.
The nation’s capital was hit by 185mm, or 7.3 inches, of rain on Sunday, which is more than they would expect for the entire month of June. This is the wettest month of the year with an average rainfall of 178mm (7 inches).
Since the weekend a further 50mm, or 2 inches, of rain has fallen, exacerbating the severe problems already faced. President John Dramani Mahama has surveyed the areas concerned. He was reported to have driven through several neighborhoods on a motorcycle.
Heavy downpours were also recorded 150km, or around 93 miles, to the west of Accra in the Central Regional capital, Cape Coast where 10 people died in floods, Sandy Amartey, regional coordinator of the National Disaster Management organization, told AFP.
“In all we have 10 to 12 who lost their lives during this rainy season.”
The rains come too late to save the nation’s struggling coca crop. The region’s Harmattan winds have been blamed for likely poor yield.
The Harmattan is the cold, dry wind that blows across West Africa from the Sahara during the winter months. It does have a tendency to sap the moisture from the soil and can spoil the cocoa seeds.
The rains finally arrived in March. Since then they have been insufficiently light and patchy until recently.
This current spell of heavy showers is set to continue well into next week.
The rainy season is not expected to ease significantly until early July.
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