The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has launched a targeted inspection exercise across flood-prone communities in the Greater Accra Region, deploying senior officials alongside military personnel to assess and clear major drainage infrastructure before the rainy season begins.
The exercise, which started on Thursday March 5, is being led personally by NADMO Director-General Joseph Bikanyi Kuyon and is focused on ensuring that drains are properly desilted and structurally sound enough to handle the volume of water expected when heavy rains arrive.
Speaking during the inspection, Kuyon said the current exercise builds directly on a presidential visit to Accra’s flood flashpoints conducted last year. “This is not the first time we are coming here. Last year, we were here with the President of the country himself to have a look at flashpoints of flooding in Accra,” he said, adding that NADMO has been working continuously with stakeholders since that assessment.
Kuyon pointed to visible improvement at one key site, noting that concrete banks that had previously broken down and missing slabs had since been reconstructed, with only finishing touches remaining to create buffers and embankments to channel floodwater effectively.
The director-general pushed back against the perception that NADMO only becomes active after a disaster has already struck. “My administration’s focus is not to react to disasters only. Disaster management is a process. It starts from working to prevent and putting ourselves in readiness, should any disaster occur,” he said. He acknowledged that much of NADMO’s preventive work goes unnoticed precisely because it happens before damage occurs.
The timing of the exercise is not coincidental. The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has forecast above-normal rainfall for Accra, Tema, Cape Coast, Saltpond, Asamankese, Koforidua, and several East Coast communities between April and June 2026, significantly elevating the flood risk across low-lying and drainage-constrained parts of the capital.
Residents in at-risk communities have been strongly advised to follow safety directives from NADMO, local assemblies, and GMet to minimise exposure during the peak rainfall months. NADMO is also urging the public to stop dumping waste into drainage channels, a practice authorities consistently identify as the primary human factor behind Accra’s recurring flood disasters.
