Head of the Centre for Settlements Studies at the Faculty of Built Environment, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Professor Divine Ahadzie, says Ghanaians must learn to live with the perennial flooding situation in the country.

According to him, community engagement is the way forward in dealing with floods which have become a global phenomenon.

Tuesday morning’s downpour in Accra and other parts of the country saw many properties destroyed, with scores displaced and a life lost at Odawna.

Speaking on NewsDesk on the Joy News channel, Prof Ahadzie said the structural or engineering approach to addressing the flooding issue alone will not solve the problem.

Prof Ahadzie aslo noted, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) is doing its best but there is more to be done.

“Communities are supposed to be empowered so that they take the management of floods into their own hands,” he stated.

He further noted “Before the rainy season, communities should have had public fora to discuss how they would deal with floods if it should happen.

"This year, one would say the Covid-19 may not have allowed this but it is something we need to be doing now’’.

While, reports indicate that the deceased at Odawna was electrocuted during the rains, Prof Ahadzie believes this could have been prevented.

“With the electricity problem, once the community approach comes in, they can be educated on the dangers including using construction practices that would help avoid such incidents at flood-prone areas.

"For example locating socket and electrical switch at high levels at home instead of the lower levels we have now.’’