The Ga East Municipal Assembly has announced plans to begin demolishing structures situated on waterways in parts of the municipality after Thursday, July 16, as part of measures to reduce the risk of flooding.

The exercise follows the recent flooding in one of the municipality's communities, which claimed 11 lives and caused widespread destruction.

Authorities say the demolition forms part of broader efforts to prevent a recurrence by removing obstructions along major drainage channels.

The Assembly said it has already undertaken a series of interventions, including dredging streams, desilting drains, clearing culverts and evacuating waste to improve the free flow of stormwater. It added that residents occupying affected areas had been given until July 16 to vacate ahead of the exercise.

Briefing the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, during a visit to the municipality on Wednesday, July 15, the Environmental Health Officer of the Ga East Municipal Assembly, Ing. Charles Asabreh, said, "We have taken a lot of steps to deal with the aftermath of the flooding we experienced the last time. As an assembly, we have done some desilting and dredging of some streams in the area."

"We have also cleared our culverts to allow the water to flow. We have also done a lot of evacuation of waste. There is a lot we have to do, so we are going to continue," he added.

Ing. Asabreh further disclosed that the Assembly had identified a section heavily occupied by squatters on waterways and had marked the structures for demolition.

"But more importantly, there is an area with a lot of squatters, so as part of the efforts, and to ensure that we do not experience the flood again, we have marked the place for demolition, and we have asked them to move by Thursday for the place to be demolished," he stated.

The Minister's visit comes as authorities step up flood preparedness measures across the Greater Accra Region following recent heavy rains.

Municipal officials have also reiterated warnings against building on waterways, stressing that such developments obstruct natural drainage channels and significantly increase the risk of flooding.