Four days after torrential rains triggered severe flooding across parts of Accra, authorities have begun a major recovery exercise to remove vehicles swept into drainage channels at Alajo, one of the communities badly affected by Monday’s downpour.

The operation, which is being carried out with heavy-duty machinery, follows days of limited access to some flood-hit areas as water levels gradually receded.

The exercise forms part of a broader clean-up effort aimed at clearing debris, salvaging damaged property and preventing possible disease outbreaks in the aftermath of the disaster.

At Alajo, floodwaters washed a number of vehicles into the Odaw drain, leaving many stranded in the river channel. Local officials say the retrieval exercise will continue until all trapped vehicles and debris are removed from the drains.

JoyNews' Collins Frimpong, in an interview with the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso Central, Abdul Rauf Tongym Tubazu, said the clean-up operation is being undertaken as a matter of urgency, with particular focus on clearing refuse left behind by the floods.

As part of the operation, heavy-duty equipment has been deployed to retrieve the vehicles still trapped in the Odaw drain.

“Currently, we are looking at about 20 to 25 vehicles that are still in the river. We are trying to get them out,” the MP disclosed.

He explained that some of the vehicles belonged to mechanic shops and were dragged into the drain by the force of the floodwaters, while others were privately owned. Vehicle owners who have been identified are being assisted to move their cars, while unclaimed ones will be parked temporarily pending identification.

“What happened was that most of the owners of the vehicles are here. Some of them were from the fitting shops that were dragged into the river. So those that are from the fitting shop will be taken back there. Owners who are also here and are willing to collect their vehicles, we are assisting them to move them to their various homes or wherever they want them kept,” he said.

“Those that we cannot identify the owners of, we are going to park them here, then we’ll do the necessary identification and proceed from there,” he added.

The Monday floods caused widespread destruction across parts of Accra, submerging homes, displacing residents and sweeping vehicles into open drains and waterways. Authorities say the recovery and clean-up operation at Alajo will continue until the drains are fully cleared and the area made safe for residents.

So far, over 20 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the flood.