Ivory Coast Floods Kill 59 as Ghana Faces Additional Deaths

Intense torrential rains in early July 2026 triggered severe flooding across parts of West Africa. In Ivory Coast, the death toll rose to 59, with roughly 20 fatalities in the Attécoubé district of Abidjan. Government spokesperson Amadou Coulibaly announced at a cabinet meeting that “the council deplores the particularly high death toll of 59 this year,” and ordered evacuations from high‑risk zones while planning 12 000 new homes for about 60 000 displaced residents.

In Ghana, at least 12‑13 people died in the capital Accra as floodwaters submerged homes, businesses and major roads. Rescue teams saved roughly 500 people, but the disaster also caused power outages, a fire at a rubber factory and the threat of another storm from the east. President John Mahama linked the extreme rainfall to climate change and ordered demolition of illegal structures built on waterways. The National House of Chiefs called for long‑term urban‑planning and drainage solutions.

Separate flood impacts were reported on Ghana’s Volta Region islands, where more than 30 houses collapsed in Keta municipality, leaving residents isolated and in need of emergency relief.