Abstract
In line with the global effort to build community resilience to flood, there is limited attention to flood recovery and repairs in flood-prone communities in the developing world. Using five flood-prone regions in Ghana as a case study, this study explores the nature of recovery and repairs of flood-damaged residential structures by addressing the following questions: (a) What are the effects of flooding on building elements and the buildings' occupants? (b) What is the nature of damage after flooding? and (c) What are the recovery and repair activities undertaken when buildings are damaged by flooding? Drawing from 241 face-to-face interviews with vulnerable residents, the respondents ranked damages to painting and surface finishes, floor coverings such as carpets, and the floor and walls as the crucial elements of the building fabric mostly affected by floodwaters. The respondents also indicated that financial constraints and disruption of work are severely impacted due to the repair and recovery they had to perform to restore their buildings. The main entry point for floodwaters into buildings is around windows and doors, cracks in the wall, and vents. Cleaning the building, drying the building, and removing damaged content were ranked as the three most important factors in the repair and recovery activities. We propose support schemes to standardise the uptake of floor repairs and recovery including support for an insurance policy for homeowners.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Worldometers, 2020. Ghana Population Live. Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ghanapopulation/#:~:text=The%20current%20population%20of%20Ghana,year%20according%20to%20UN%20data. on 06/25/2020.
References
Afrane, S., & Asamoah, P. K. B. (2011). Housing Situation in Kumasi. In K. K. Adarkwa (Ed.), Future of the tree: Towards growth and development of Kumasi. (pp. 69–91). University Printing Press.
Agyemang, F. S. K., Silva, E., & Aboagye, P. (2018). Towards sustainable urban development: The social acceptability of high-rise buildings in a Ghanaian city. GeoJournal, 83(6), 1317–1329. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-017-9837-0
Ahadzie, D. K., Dinye, I., Dinye, R. D., & Proverbs, D. G. (2016). Flood risk perception, coping and management in two vulnerable communities in Kumasi, Ghana. International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering. https://doi.org/10.2495/SAFE-V6-N3-538-549
Ahadzie, D. K., & Proverbs, D. G. (2011). Emerging issues in the management of floods in ghana. International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering. https://doi.org/10.2495/SAFE-V1-N2-182-192
Amoako, C. (2018). Emerging grassroots resilience and flood responses in informal settlements in Accra, Ghana. GeoJournal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-017-9807-6
Amoako, C., & Boamah, E. F. (2015). The three-dimensional causes of flooding in Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2014.984720
Amoateng, P., Finlayson, C. M., Howard, J., & Wilson, B. (2018). A multi-faceted analysis of annual flood incidences in Kumasi, Ghana. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 27, 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.09.044
Arku, G., Mensah, K. O., Allotey, N. K., Frempong, E. A., Arku, G., Mensah, K. O., Allotey, N. K., & Frempong, E. A. (2016). Non-compliance with building permit regulations in Accra-Tema city-region, Ghana: Exploring the reasons from the perspective of multiple stakeholders. Planning Theory and Practice, 17(3), 361–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649357.2016.1192216
Armah, F. A., Yawson, D. O., Yengoh, G. T., Odoi, J. O., & Afrifa, E. K. A. (2010). Impact of floods on livelihoods and vulnerability of natural resource dependent communities in Northern Ghana. Water, 2(2), 120–139. https://doi.org/10.3390/w2020120
Asumadu-Sarkodie, S., OwusuPhebe, A., & Rufangura, P. (2015). Impact analysis of flood in Accra, Ghana. Advances in Applied Science Research, 6(9), 53–78
Atreya, A., Ferreira, S., & Michel-Kerjan, E. (2015). What drives households to buy flood insurance? New evidence from Georgia. Ecological Economics, 117, 153–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.06.024
Ayambire, R. A., Amponsah, O., Peprah, C., & Takyi, S. A. (2019). A review of practices for sustaining urban and peri-urban agriculture: Implications for land use planning in rapidly urbanising Ghanaian cities. Land Use Policy, 84, 260–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.03.004
Boateng, A. S., & Kwofie, T. E. (2017). Challenges to resilient infrastructure delivery in wetland areas: the case of Kumasi communication performance in non traditional procurement and contracting view project building resilient infrastructure in Ghana view project. In researchgate.net.
Carroll, B., Morbey, H., Balogh, R., & Araoz, G. (2009). Flooded homes, broken bonds, the meaning of home, psychological processes and their impact on psychological health in a disaster. Health and Place, 15(2), 540–547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2008.08.009
Cobbinah, P. B., Asibey, M. O., Opoku-Gyamfi, M., & Peprah, C. (2019). Urban planning and climate change in Ghana. Journal of Urban Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2019.02.002
Crichton, D., The, S., Papers, G., Issues, I., January, N., & Crichton, D. (2016). Role of insurance in reducing flood risk. The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance-Issues and Practice, 33(1), 117–132. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.gpp.2510151
Danso, S. Y., & Addo, I. Y. (2017). Coping strategies of households affected by flooding: A case study of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis in Ghana. Urban Water Journal, 14(5), 539–545. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2016.1176223
Deniz, D., Arneson, E. E., Liel, A. B., Dashti, S., & Javernick-Will, A. N. (2017). Flood loss models for residential buildings, based on the 2013 Colorado floods. Natural Hazards, 85(2), 977–1003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2615-3
Douglas, I. (2017). Flooding in African cities, scales of causes, teleconnections, risks, vulnerability and impacts. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 26, 34–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.09.024
Garvin, S., J. Reid, M. S. (2005). Standards for the repair of buildings following flooding.
Ghana Statistical Service. (2010). Summary Report of Final 2010 Population and Housing Census. 1–117.
Ghanaweb. (2020). Man electrocuted at Adabraka as Accra gets flooded. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Man-electrocuted-at-Adabraka-as-Accra-gets-flooded-974701
GoG. (2015). National climate change policy action programme for implementation: 2015–2020. Accra, Ghana.
GoG. (2018). Ghana’s national adaptation plan framework. Accra, Ghana.
GSS. (2010). Population and housing census (PHC). Accra, Ghana.
Harries, T., & Penning-rowsell, E. (2011). Victim pressure, institutional inertia and climate change adaptation: The case of flood risk. Global Environmental Change, 21(1), 188–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.09.002
IPCC. (2012). Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters toadvance climate change adaptation (J. L. Baker (ed.)). The World Bank.
Jonkman, S. N. (2005). Global perspectives on loss of human life caused by floods. Natural Hazards, 34(2), 151–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-004-8891-3
Karley, N. K. (2009). Flooding and physical planning in urban areas in west Africa: Situational analysis of Accra, Ghana. Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, 4(4), 25–41
Kidd, B., Tagg, A., Escarameia, M., von Christierson, B., Lamond, J., Proverbs, D., & Government, D. for C. and L. (2010). Guidance and standards for drying flood damaged buildings. Signposting current guidance – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6326/1773816.pdf, BD2760. Accessed 10 Jan 2021.
Kunreuther, H. (2006). Disaster mitigation and insurance: Learning from Katrina. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 604(1), 208–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716205285685
Marchiori, L., Maystadt, J.-F., & Schumacher, I. (2012). The impact of weather anomalies on migration in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 63(3), 355–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2012.02.001
McKenna, J. (2010). Living in Fear of the Rain: The impact of recent flooding in Greater Belfast. https://www.climatenorthernireland.org.uk/cmsfiles/resources/files/Living-in-Fear-of-Rain.pdf. Acessed 12 Jan 2021
Mensah, H., & Ahadzie, D. K. (2020). Causes, impacts and coping strategies of floods in Ghana: A systematic review. SN Applied Sciences, 2(5), 792. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-2548-z
Mitchell, W. A. (1977). Partial recovery and reconstruction after disaster: the Lice case. In Mass Emergencies, 2, (pp. 233–247). Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.
Olomolaiye, P. O., Wahab, K. A., & Price, A. D. F. (1987). Problems influencing craftsmen’s productivity in Nigeria. Building and Environment, 22(4), 317–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-1323(87)90024-2
Oppong, B. K. (2011). Environmental hazards in Ghanaian cities: the incidence of annual floods along the Aboabo river in the Kumasi metropolitan area of the Ashanti region of Ghana. Thesis submitted to the Department of Geography and Rural Development (Unpublished), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Owusu-Ansah, J. K., Dery, J. M., & Amoako, C. (2018). Flood vulnerability and coping mechanisms around the Weija Dam near Accra, Ghana. GeoJournal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-018-9939-3
Pistrika, A. K., & Jonkman, S. N. (2010). Damage to residential buildings due to flooding of New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. Natural Hazards, 54(2), 413–434. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-009-9476-y
Proverbs, D., & Lamond, J. (2017). Flood Resilient Construction and Adaptation of Buildings. Natural Hazard Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389407.013.111.
Proverbs, D. G., & Soetanto, R. (2004). Flood Damaged Property. In D. G. Proverbs & R. Soetanto (Eds.), Flood Damaged Property: A Guide to Repair.Blackwell Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470759295
Rehman, J., Sohaib, O., Asif, M., & Pradhan, B. (2019). Applying systems thinking to flood disaster management for a sustainable development. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 36, 101101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101101
Rotimi, J., Proverbs, D., & Lamond, J. (2015). Flood risk mitigation. In H. Robinson, B. Symonds, B. Gilbertson, & B. Ilozor (Eds.), Design economics for the built environment. (pp. 213–226). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118944790.ch15
Sebastien, F., Nuria, O.-E., & Bon, G. (2017). The effect of flooding on mental health: Lessons learned for building resilience. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 5(3), 2–2. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1969.tb04897.x
Shah, M. N., Dixit, S., Kumar, R., Jain, R., & Anand, K. (2019). Causes of delays in slum reconstruction projects in India. International Journal of Construction Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2018.1560546
Soetanto, R., & Proverbs, D. G. (2004). Impact of flood characteristics on damage caused to UK domestic properties: the perceptions of building surveyors. Structural Survey, 22(2), 95–104. https://doi.org/10.1108/02630800410538622
Stevens, M. (2012). Cities and Flooding: A Guide to Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management for the 21st Century by AbhasJha, Robin Bloch, Jessica Lamond, and other contributors. Journal of Regional Science, 52(5), 885–887. https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12006_6
Surminski, S., & Oramas-Dorta, D. (2014). Flood insurance schemes and climate adaptation in developing countries. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 7, 154–164
Surminski, S., & Thieken, A. H. (2017). Promoting flood risk reduction: The role of insurance in Germany and England. Earth’s Future, 5(10), 979–1001. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017EF000587
Tasantab, J. C., Von Meding, J., Maund, K., & Gajendran, T. (2018). Ghana must move from coping with floods, to adapting for them. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/ghana-must-move-from-coping-with-floods-to-adapting-for-them-104493. Accessed 10 Jan 2021.
Thieken, A. H., Olschewski, A., Kreibich, H., Kobsch, S., & Merz, B. (2008). Development and evaluation of FLEMOps—a new flood loss estimation model for the private sector. Flood Recovery, Innovation and Response I, I, 315–324. https://doi.org/10.2495/FRIAR080301
Twumasi, Y. A., & Asomani-Boateng, R. (2002). Mapping seasonal hazards for flood management in Accra, Ghana using GIS. International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS). https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2002.1026807
Walliman, N., Baiche, B., Ogden, R., Tagg, A., & Escarameia, M. (2013). Estimation of repair costs of individual non-domestic buildings damaged by floods. International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering, 3(4), 290–306. https://doi.org/10.2495/SAFE-V3-N4-290-306
Yankson, P. W. K., Owusu, A. B., Owusu, G., Boakye-Danquah, J., & Tetteh, J. D. (2017). Assessment of coastal communities’ vulnerability to floods using indicator-based approach: A case study of Greater Accra metropolitan area, Ghana. Natural Hazards, 89(2), 661–689. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-2985-1
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge the services of five students of the Department of Construction Technology and Management of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana who were engaged to collect the data. We also wish to thank all the homeowners who availed themselves for the study. We also acknowledge the very detailed suggestion of the reviewers which we believe has helped in improving the quality of the paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ahadzie, D.K., Mensah, H. & Simpeh, E. Impact of floods, recovery, and repairs of residential structures in Ghana: insights from homeowners. GeoJournal 87, 3133–3148 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-021-10425-2
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-021-10425-2