Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Read more
Floods and landslides triggered by days of torrential rain in the capital cities of Ghana and Ivory Coast have left at least 24 people dead, authorities said Tuesday, as emergency workers continued to pull hundreds of stranded residents from submerged buildings.
Entire buildings and roads were submerged in Accra on Monday, cutting off access to several areas of the Ghanian capital and in the neighboring city of Tema.
At least 12 people have been confirmed dead in Ghana, including a mother and her child who were both swept away in the Achimota-Agbogbloshie district, Alex King Nartey, a spokesperson for Ghana National Fire Service told The Associated Press.
In Ivory Coast, several days of rain brought flooding that left more than a dozen people dead, most of them in municipalities of Attécoubé and Yopougon in the capital, Abidjan, according to the Minister of National Cohesion Myss Belmonde Dogo.
Local media reported at least nine of the dead were trapped under the rubble in the same area in the Mossikro neighborhood following the rains that started on Saturday.
Videos of the floods in Accra showed residents swimming through neck-deep water to rescue trapped neighbors, while vehicles were abandoned on flooded roads.
Access to affected areas was “a big problem” for the emergency services which had to request the help of the military, said Nartey. Several neighborhoods remained partially flooded by Tuesday morning.
Ghana’s National Disaster Management Organisation said emergency calls began pouring in around 7 a.m. on Monday as residents realized floodwaters were entering their homes. “The whole place was flooded. It’s alarming,” said Mariam Dongyela Millah, deputy director of communications at the disaster agency.
The Ghana Meteorological Agency urged locals to prepare for more rain this week in Accra.
Deadly floods are common in parts of Africa, which is among the regions most vulnerable to extreme weather events despite being responsible for a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
