Ghana remembers June 3 nightmare

Yesterday, June 3, the nation woke up to what has largely been described as the greatest tragedy in the history of the Ghana in 2015.

June 3, 2018, marked the third anniversary of the twin disaster of flood and fire at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

A combined effort of flooding and fire explosion from the Goil filling station resulted in the death of an estimated 154 Ghanaians.

Nurses, teachers, artisans, bankers, students, and children were among the people who lost their lives that fateful day.

The disaster in Accra was the worst in the county's history and it exposed the deficiencies in the planning and development of the capital city.

Properties running into millions of cedis were lost to the floods and fire.

Though some of the victims received compensation from the state but others indicate that they have been abandoned and neglected since the incident happened.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), in a statement to mark the day, cautioned the public to be wary of their surroundings by ensuring that their drains were free from debris and cooperate with state institutions to avoid disasters.

It called on the public to cooperate with NADMO, the Environmental Protection Agency, Hydrological Service Department, and the District Assemblies among others to ensure disaster risk reduction for safety.

The statement, signed by George Kwadwo Ayisi, the Director of Communication, appealed to the public to create awareness of the imminence of disaster around them and the need to prevent them.

"We wish to soberly commemorate this day in the disaster history of Ghana, not as a reminder of pain caused the nation by this complex disaster of flood and fire.

"NADMO wishes to commiserate with the families that lost their loved ones, property and their livelihood and empathise with the injured and say let’s us, as a people, resolve to say never again should our negligence and dereliction of duties lead us this way," it added.