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Focus on Africa: How Prepared is Your City to Deal with Disaster?

Ghana Fire Rescue

How Prepared is Your City to Deal with Disaster?

BBC World Service - Focus on Africa

Ghana is one of Africa's model countries, so why was it not ready to deal with disaster?

It is one month since the devastating floods and fire that killed over 150 people in Ghana's capital Accra. The fire and subsequent explosion took place at a petrol station where people had been sheltering from the rain. Over 150 people were killed and dozens injured. Millions of dollars’ worth of property were destroyed.

Ghana is said to be one of Africa's model countries - with relatively decent institutions and infrastructure. So what went wrong? How prepared was the city for the perennial floods? What about the response by the emergency services? Could the disaster and its aftermath been handled differently? 

A few days ago, chaos erupted when the authorities attempted to demolish a slum in Accra nicknamed Sodom and Gomorrah - saying the illegal dwelling had blocked the flow of flood waters, causing the recent disaster.

Some have blamed the city’s problems with population growth on rural-to-urban migration, which led to overcrowding in some areas. Some say it is due to poor city/urban planning; all issues that resonate across the continent. So how prepared is your city to deal with disasters such as what happened in Ghana? And what solutions would you propose?

We explore the issues with some city authorities and planning experts, as well as an audience of local people and some of those people directly affected by last month's incident.

(Photo: Soldiers and rescue workers patrol the remaining structure of houses following a gas station explosion in Accra, Ghana, June 2015. Credit: AP)

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