The Founding Director, Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana has called for proactive and practical measures to be adopted in addressing flooding in the country.
Professor Chris Gordon said raising awareness and cautioning the general public on the dangers of flooding alone is not enough to deal with the menace.
Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show, on Monday, he noted that "awareness has nothing to do with responsibility, and action [which are needed to curtail the phenomenon].
"We are aware and we know what is going on. We are very smart people but whether we are willing to use that awareness to take us to the next level of action and response is a different matter," he said.
The comment follows the heavy rains which occurred on Saturday and flooded various parts of Accra.
Mr Gordon mentioned that "the fact that every year, the nation loses so much in terms of the impact on water bodies, road infrastructure, etc and the phenomenon keeps repeating itself shows that whether the public is aware of the dangers of flooding or not, is immaterial.
"It is the action that is needed," he stressed.
He noted that even though the mandate of the Ghana Meteorological Agency is to make people aware through early warnings and potential threats and hazards of heavy rains, the onus is on the public and the government to ensure that the menace becomes a thing of the past.
Following hours of rain, parts of Accra and other urban centres in the Greater Accra Region, including North Kaneshie, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, and Kasoa were flooded on Saturday.
The phenomenon obstructed traffic flow on some major roads in the capital.
Ghanaians took to Twitter to share videos of flooded areas after Saturday evening’s rain;
It appears Circle is a no-go area this evening following this evening’s downpour.
— The Konversation (@konversationgh) May 21, 2022
Many other parts of Accra are flooded. #AccraFloods pic.twitter.com/slWv42GC2J
Also, some homes have flooded as a result.
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