A natural hazard is a natural process and event that is a potential threat to human life and property.  The process and the events themselves are not a hazard but become so because of human use of the land.  (Keller/DeVecchio, 5).  In that regard on can say that the hazards affect millions of people around the world in the form of earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.  Each country with its own specific hazard, that is the deal pretty much.  As far as my beloved country Ghana is concerned, floods is one of the main hazards the country consistently deals with.  It is an unfortunate situation many Ghanaians are tired of and desire vehemently to see a change. Thus the choice of my topic in this assignment.  To refresh your memory a bit, Ghana or Gold Coast as it was called in the past is a beautiful country situated on the West Coast of Africa.  It is surrounded by attractive beaches that lure tourists in all year round and share borders with Togo, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and La Cote D'Ivoire.  Ye
       The cause of natural disasters and hazards in Ghana has been mainly from water through flooding or stormy rain.  Each consecutive year, floods occur in Accra, the capital city or in the surrounding regions as well and they predominantly affect the urban poor.  What is the root cause of this hazard taking place annually?  Well, some critics have put the blame on climate change the globe itself has quite often been experiencing, global warming as they would call it.  In fact some studies have linked the issues of floods to climate change and variability indicating direct correlation and causality.  In this instance, one can predict that several forms of floods and other natural disasters can be prominent in the near future as the article suggests.  But the consequence of the floods is aggravated by poor development planning of the residential areas and inadequate or lack of information on the early signs.
     In the past two decades, Accra has seen a huge and increasing development bringing many constructions going on in the area.  Houses, tall buildings, and so one emerged as the economy was booming at a fast rate.  Nevertheless, the drainage system that will convey out the surplus of water was overlooked.  Therefore when there is severe heavy rain especially in the monsoon season, streets are flooded with water and the less homes of the less fortunate are inundated.  From 2006 to 2012, the country was hit by severe flooding; but the deadliest was the one in 2015 that has taken approximately the lives of a total of 300 people. Two hundred and a quarter were reported dying in the fire that was ignited at the Shell gas station due to gas being mixed with water  Long and behold the gas station has exploded, causing a fire outbreak.  It was said that when the water was rising up,many sought refuge at the gas station waiting for rain to subside.  However, that refuge turned out to be hell instead especially for those who did not know how to swim.  Those who apparently knew how to swim escaped with third-degree burns.  It was a deplorable situation that has left the citizens of the country very perplexed and revolted against the corrupted government.  Below, you could see the severity of the event afterwards depicted in the picture 1.  The other picture shows the station before the explosion.

   One particular incident that left me speechless was the body of a mother clinging onto her child.  That cut right through my heart. The second picture shows those who by providence survived with severe burns but at least made it.

   Indeed these pictures are very graphic, yet they do paint the painful event the Ghanaians went through just last year.  Who could ever forget this fatal day?  At least not me.  This tragedy could have been avoided if the overflow of the water caused by the heavy rain (of few hours) was directed back to the rivers or sea.  As you clearly see in the last picture, water was stuck in the middle of the city engulfing many cars and infrastructures.  And the few gutters that are there to drain are carelessly filled with garbage, which in turn block the flow of water.  Apart from those who perish in the fire, 28 drowned inside their homes or shops fault of  not knowing how to swim.
    As resolutions, I would advice the government first of all to develop a better drainage system in the urban area in order to accommodate the growth of the city.  Secondly, I will recommend that the government takes it seriously to forcefully evacuate the citizens out of the public areas in the event of extreme weather alert.  Some people just don't take warning too seriously especially when previous warnings have not come to past.  They wait until they see it with their own eyes before they take action and by that time, it is already too late.   That is when education also comes into play: educating the people about what to do before, during, and after of any natural hazard.  And the last thing I would do is to make sure that there were many garbage disposal placed at various junctions of the streets of Accra in order to prevent littering, which in turn can reduce gutters being filled with trash.
I would start these implementations in the capital city (where I would want to live and built also my house) because this tragedy has negatively impacted the economy of the country.
      Natural hazards are events human beings cannot prevent at times; but with thoughtful preparation ahead of time, a country can minimize their dangerous effects.  And if Ghana takes to implement those measures, there is  hope, safety, and a brighter future for GHANA!!!!!


Works Cited
http://www.zef.de/fileadmin/downloads/forum/docprog/Termpapers/2012_2_Gilgenbach_Okyere_Yacouba.pdf

Courtesy pictures taken out of this website:
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images? p=pictures+of+the+fire+of+the+gas+station+in+ghana&fr=yfp-

Keller, DeVecchio, Natural Hazards. Pearson, 2015.