Severe rainfall has led to flooding and wrecked crops in Ghana and many other countries across Western and Eastern Africa, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in chaotic living conditions.
In Ghana, at least 20 people have been killed so far, 4,544 houses damaged, and more than 400,000 people left homeless. The floods have submerged land which produces food for the entire country. A state of emergency has been declared in Ghana for Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions, which has been hit especially hard.
Upper East region minister Alhassan Samar said malaria and cholera could take hold and mosquito nets were being handed out. Three bridges in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region, have been destroyed by the floods, making transportation in the area almost impossible.
George Azi Amoo, co-ordinator of Ghana's disaster management body, said the floods had destroyed farmland, livestock and infrastructure. "Some villages and communities have now been totally wiped off the map of Ghana," he said.
In Uganda and Ethiopia, tens of thousands had to leave their homes at risk from rising water levels. The floods had affected at least 500,000 people in West African and another half a million in Sudan, according to a UN official.
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September 17, 2007
Floods wipe out crops in west, east Africa
Categories floods
