IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rom/terumm/v8y2013i2p45-79.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Problem Of Annual Occurrences Of Floods In Accra: An Integration Of Hydrological, Economic And Political Perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Charles Y. OKYERE

    (University of Bonn, Walter-Flex-Str. 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany)

  • Yira YACOUBA

    (University of Bonn, Walter-Flex-Str. 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany)

  • Dominik GILGENBACH

    (University of Bonn, Walter-Flex-Str. 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany)

Abstract

Accra, the capital city of Ghana, like many cities in Africa (especially Sub-Saharan Africa) is vulnerable to natural hazards and disasters. The cause of natural disasters and hazards in Ghana has been mainly from water through flooding or stormy rain or drought, and bush fires. The occurrences of floods in Accra have become an annual event with severe consequences mostly felt by the urban poor. We present a brief discussion on the annual occurrences of floods in Accra, Ghana by adopting an integrated approach including hydrological, economic and political perspectives. The social and economic damage costs of floods in Accra and Ghana are presented and analyzed. Case study of recent types and causes of floods in Accra are presented. The weaknesses in the responses to the management of floods in Accra and Ghana are indicated. We also argue that for measures taken in dealing with the annual occurrences of floods in Accra to be effective, the hydrological, economic and political perspectives have to be integrated. The first measure should target the flood-prone areas and these should be proactive measures rather than reactive measures. Further, the impacts of floods are not evenly distributed with the worse affected areas and people being the slums and urban poor respectively. We conclude by making some recommendations to help improve the intervention options and protection measures available to policy makers in ensuring that Accra becomes a flood-free city and also highlights areas for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles Y. OKYERE & Yira YACOUBA & Dominik GILGENBACH, 2013. "The Problem Of Annual Occurrences Of Floods In Accra: An Integration Of Hydrological, Economic And Political Perspectives," Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 8(2), pages 45-79, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:rom:terumm:v:8:y:2013:i:2:p:45-79
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://um.ase.ro/no82/4.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Buckley, Robert M. & Mathema, Ashna S., 2007. "Is Accra a superstar city ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4453, The World Bank.
    2. Noah Kofi KARLEY, 2009. "Flooding And Physical Planning In Urban Areas In West Africa: Situational Analysis Of Accra, Ghana," Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 4(4(13)), pages 25-41, November.
    3. Gatzweiler, Franz W. & Baumuller, Heike & Husmann, Christine Ladenburger & von Braun, Joachim, 2011. "Marginality: Addressing the Root Causes of Extreme Poverty," Working Papers 146653, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    4. Obuobie, Emmanuel & Keraita, Bernard & Danso, George & Amoah, Philip & Cofie, Olufunke O. & Raschid-Sally, Liqa & Drechsel, Pay, 2006. "Irrigated urban vegetable production in Ghana: characteristics, benefits and risks," IWMI Books, International Water Management Institute, number 137958, January.
    5. David Harvey, 2003. "The right to the city," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 939-941, December.
    6. Kwasi Owusu Boadi & Markku Kuitunen, 2002. "Urban Waste Pollution in the Korle Lagoon, Accra, Ghana," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 301-309, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Philip Antwi-Agyei & Frank Baffour-Ata & Sarah Koomson & Nana Kwame Kyeretwie & Nana Barimah Nti & Afia Oforiwaa Owusu & Fukaiha Abdul Razak, 2023. "Drivers and coping mechanisms for floods: experiences of residents in urban Kumasi, Ghana," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 116(2), pages 2477-2500, March.
    2. Hossain, Mohammad Khalid & Meng, Qingmin, 2020. "A fine-scale spatial analytics of the assessment and mapping of buildings and population at different risk levels of urban flood," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Emmanuel Abeka & Felix A. Asante & Wolfram Laube & Samuel N. A. Codjoe, 2020. "Contested causes of flooding in poor urban areas in Accra, Ghana: an actor-oriented perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3033-3049, April.
    4. Clifford Amoako & Daniel Kweku Baah Inkoom, 2018. "The production of flood vulnerability in Accra, Ghana: Re-thinking flooding and informal urbanisation," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(13), pages 2903-2922, October.
    5. Raymond Seyeram Nkonu & Mary Antwi & Mark Amo-Boateng & Benjamin Wullobayi Dekongmen, 2023. "GIS-based multi-criteria analytical hierarchy process modelling for urban flood vulnerability analysis, Accra Metropolis," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 117(2), pages 1541-1568, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emmanuel Abeka & Felix A. Asante & Wolfram Laube & Samuel N. A. Codjoe, 2020. "Contested causes of flooding in poor urban areas in Accra, Ghana: an actor-oriented perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3033-3049, April.
    2. Adamou, Pr. Rabani & Ibrahim, Boubacar & Bonkaney, Abdou Latif & Seyni, Abdoul Aziz & Idrissa, Mamoudou, 2021. "Niger - Land, climate, energy, agriculture and development: A study in the Sudano-Sahel Initiative for Regional Development, Jobs, and Food Security," Working Papers 308806, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    3. Franklin Obeng-Odoom, 2011. "Real Estate Agents in Ghana: A Suitable Case for Regulation?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 403-416.
    4. Maria-Lluïsa Marsal-Llacuna, 2016. "City Indicators on Social Sustainability as Standardization Technologies for Smarter (Citizen-Centered) Governance of Cities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 1193-1216, September.
    5. Graw, Valerie & Husmann, Christine Ladenburger, 2012. "Mapping Marginality Hotspots – Geographical Targeting for Poverty Reduction," Working Papers 147917, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    6. K. C. Ho, 2021. "Land and Housing in Singapore: Three Conversations with Anne Haila," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(2), pages 325-351, March.
    7. Junxi Qian, 2015. "No right to the street: Motorcycle taxis, discourse production and the regulation of unruly mobility," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(15), pages 2922-2947, November.
    8. Osman, Abdelrahman Khidir & Ali, Adil M., 2021. "Sudan - Land, climate, energy, agriculture and development: A study in the Sudano-Sahel Initiative for Regional Development, Jobs, and Food Security," Working Papers 308810, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    9. Carijn Beumer, 2017. "Sustopia or Cosmopolis? A Critical Reflection on the Sustainable City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-14, May.
    10. Annez , Patricia Clarke & Linn, Johannes F., 2010. "An agenda for research on urbanization in developing countries : a summary of findings from a scoping exercise," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5476, The World Bank.
    11. Anguelovski, Isabelle & Martínez Alier, Joan, 2014. "The ‘Environmentalism of the Poor’ revisited: Territory and place in disconnected glocal struggles," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 167-176.
    12. Shakirah Esmail Hudani, 2020. "The Green Masterplan: Crisis, State Transition and Urban Transformation in Post‐Genocide Rwanda," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 673-690, July.
    13. Rasa Pranskuniene & Dalia Perkumiene, 2021. "Public Perceptions on City Landscaping during the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease: The Case of Vilnius Pop-Up Beach, Lithuania," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, January.
    14. Alison Brown & Colman Msoka & Ibrahima Dankoco, 2015. "A refugee in my own country: Evictions or property rights in the urban informal economy?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(12), pages 2234-2249, September.
    15. Daum, Thomas, 2018. "Of Bulls and Bulbs: Aspirations and perceptions of rural youth in Zambia," Working Papers 275061, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    16. Codjoe, Samuel N.A. & Gough, Katherine V. & Wilby, Robert L. & Kasei, Raymond & Yankson, Paul W.K. & Amankwaa, Ebenezer F. & Abarike, Mercy A. & Atiglo, D. Yaw & Kayaga, Sam & Mensah, Peter & Nabilse,, 2020. "Impact of extreme weather conditions on healthcare provision in urban Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    17. Salvatierra Rojas, Ana & Torres Toledo, Victor & Mrabet, Farah & Müller, Joachim, 2018. "Improving milk value chains through solar milk cooling," Working Papers 276621, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    18. Scheierling, S. M., 2010. "Improving wastewater use in agriculture: an emerging priority," IWMI Working Papers H043153, International Water Management Institute.
    19. Sören Becker & James Angel & Matthias Naumann, 2020. "Energy democracy as the right to the city: Urban energy struggles in Berlin and London," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(6), pages 1093-1111, September.
    20. Ganguly, Kavery & Gulati, Ashok & von Braun, Joachim, 2017. "Innovations spearheading the next transformations in India‘s agriculture," Working Papers 259006, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rom:terumm:v:8:y:2013:i:2:p:45-79. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Colesca Sofia (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ccasero.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.