The environmental health unit of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has warned residents against standing in or walking through floodwaters, describing the practice as a major public health and safety risk.

Mr Benjamin Kwame Opare, an Environmental Health Officer at the Tema Metro Environmental Health Unit, said the warning had become necessary following recent floods in parts of the metropolis, where some residents were seen wading through floodwaters to rescue belongings.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Opare said urban floodwaters were highly contaminated as they often mixed with raw sewage, chemical runoff, factory waste and animal droppings.

According to him, exposure to such water could increase the risk of contracting waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery.

He noted that some individuals also took advantage of heavy rains to dispose of human waste into drains, further contaminating floodwaters and increasing public health risks.

Mr Opare explained that beyond health concerns, floodwaters concealed several physical dangers, including open drains, sharp objects and the risk of electrocution from fallen electrical cables.

He said it was often difficult to determine the depth of floodwaters, exposing people to injuries and other hazards.

The environmental health officer added that stagnant water left behind after floods created ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes, increasing the risk of malaria infections.

Mr Opare disclosed that the TMA Environmental Health Unit, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), had intensified public education and enforcement activities following the recent floods that displaced residents and affected several communities.

He said the assembly was serving notices on owners of illegal structures and containers sited on waterways to remove them to allow the free flow of water through drainage channels.

According to him, persons who failed to comply with the directives would face legal action.

Mr Opare said emergency measures had also been implemented in temporary shelters housing displaced persons to prevent disease outbreaks.

He noted that environmental health teams were spraying the shelters, treating stagnant water to destroy mosquito larvae, distributing insecticide-treated bed nets and monitoring residents for signs of illness.

He added that handwashing facilities had also been installed at the shelters to promote good hygiene practices.

Mr Opare said the assembly had intensified public education campaigns through marketplaces and the media to educate residents on flood-related health risks and preventive measures.

He advised residents in flood-prone communities to ensure that drinking water was properly treated by boiling it or using approved water purification tablets.

He further urged the public to avoid contact with floodwaters and, where unavoidable, to wear protective rubber boots and gloves and wash thoroughly with soap and clean water afterwards.

Mr Opare also encouraged residents to practise proper hand hygiene, discard food contaminated by floodwaters, disinfect their homes with bleach solutions, and eliminate stagnant water around their homes to prevent mosquito breeding.