On the night of June 3 when a loud explosion was heard at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, little did Ghanaians know it was the beginning of major disaster in the history of the country.
This is how the story unfolded till today [July 3], a month on.
June 3, 2015: The GOIL fuel filling station near the GCB bank towers at Circle in Accra was gutted by fire on Wednesday amidst heavy flooding in the city.
June 4, 2015: Over 96 bodies were recovered from GOIL filling station fire.
June 4, 2015: Scores of companies along the Graphic road were submerged by the floods that hit Accra on Wednesday.
President Mahama who visited the fire site with his entourage declared that government will take drastic measures to reduce the impact of floods and fires similar to Wednesday’s incident.
The Education Ministry also directed that children who reside in areas which have been affected by the floods and who have not yet left for school to stay at home until there was a change in the weather.
Later in the day, scores of Ghanaians thronged the 37 Military Hospitals in Accra to identify the bodies of their relatives who died in the floods and fire incident.
The Ministry of Health, Alex Segbefia held a press conference and lamented about the situation. He also appealed to Ghanaians to volunteer and donate blood to help save lives especially during emergency situations.
According to the Ghana Meteorological Service, the rains will be more intense from now till the second week of June.
Crisis meeting and $50 million package
President Mahama held a closed door National Crisis and Emergency meeting with the security chiefs and some members of his cabinet at the Flagstaff House. He after the meeting announced a $50 million package to support victims of the flood and fire. He also declared three days of mourning for the victims.
June 5, 2015: Togo President, Faure Gnassingbe was in the country to commiserate with Ghanaians. He described the recent fire explosion incident as one of the most serious trials for Ghana.
The Ga West Municipal Assembly begun demolishing some structures in the area believed to be on waterways including.
Death toll hits 150
The death toll increased from 96 to 150 as announced by President Mahama.
Desilting of Odaw drain
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) started desilting the Odaw drain.
June 10, 2015: One week National Memorial Service held for victims of the June 3 flood and fire disaster. President Mahama announced that DNA tests will be done on the bodies retrieved from the floods and the scene of the fire which are yet to be identified.
June 12, 2015: President John Dramani Mahama cancelled scheduled foreign travels in order to deal with issues arising from the June 3rd flood and fire disasters.
June 18, 2015: Fifty bodies deposited at the 37 Military hospitals have been identified through Deoxybonucleic acid (DNA) tests out of 65 bodies which had been burnt beyond recognition in the June 3rd flood and fire disaster.
June 20, 2015: The AMA in its bid to desilt the Korle Lagoon rendered thousands of Old Fadama resident homeless after demolishing their properties.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana