Published: July 6, 2026
The recent floods that inundated Accra must serve as a serious warning to Liberia. Accra is not far from Monrovia—geographically, climatically, or in the pattern of urban growth and infrastructure weakness that now exposes many West African coastal cities to flooding.
Guest Editorial by The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia
In late June 2026, heavy rains flooded parts of Ghana, including Accra and Tema, killing at least 12 people, according to Reuters. Roads, homes, vehicles, and businesses were submerged, and emergency response required military support. While the full cost of the latest disaster is still being assessed, Ghana’s past flood experience shows the danger. The 2015 Accra flood and fire disaster affected about 53,000 people, caused an estimated US$55 million in direct damage and losses, and required more than US$105 million for reconstruction.
Accra did not flood only because it rained. Accra flooded because systems failed. Blocked drains, poor waste disposal, weak enforcement of land-use laws, construction in waterways, backfilling of wetlands, inadequate drainage, and uncontrolled urban expansion all contributed to the scale of the disaster. These are not just natural events; they are the result of planning failure, enforcement failure, infrastructure failure, and civic failure.
Monrovia must pay close attention. Greater Monrovia and its suburbs now hold more than 1.7 million people, stretching through Paynesville, Gardnersville, Brewerville, Johnsonville, Caldwell, New Georgia, Somalia Drive, Duport Road, ELWA, Red Light, Omega, and surrounding communities. Years of instability, the destruction caused by civil wars, post-war infrastructure neglect, lack of proper city expansion planning, overpopulation, poor sanitation, weak drainage, and the lawless backfilling of wetlands have greatly increased Monrovia’s vulnerability.
Wetlands that should absorb stormwater are being filled for construction. Drainage channels are blocked by garbage, narrowed by illegal structures, or ignored until the rainy season arrives. Communities continue to grow in low-lying and flood-prone areas. Plastic waste, household waste, construction debris, and unplanned settlements now compete with rainwater for space. When the water cannot find its natural path, it enters homes, markets, schools, clinics, and roads.
Climate change makes this threat even more urgent. With global temperatures rising, rainfall is becoming more erratic and intense. Coastal cities like Monrovia face increased risks from heavy rainfall, river flooding, sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and poor drainage. Flooding is no longer just a seasonal inconvenience. It is now a national development, public health, environmental, and security threat.
Cities with strong drainage, functioning sewerage systems, proper zoning, respected wetlands, reliable waste collection, disciplined city planning, and citizens who obey the rule of law are better prepared to withstand flooding. Cities that are unplanned, underfunded, overpopulated, poorly drained, and weak in enforcement are less prepared. Accra has shown the cost of being unprepared. Monrovia must not wait to become the next headline.
The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia is therefore calling for increased budgetary support to the institutions responsible for flood prevention and urban resilience.
The Ministry of Public Works needs stronger funding to design, rehabilitate, expand, and maintain drainage systems; clear blocked channels; improve roads in flood-prone communities; and ensure that bridges, culverts, and public infrastructure are climate-resilient.
The Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation needs additional support to expand sewerage systems, improve wastewater management, and reduce contamination during floods. Flooding in a city with weak sanitation can quickly become a public health emergency, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.
City governments, including Monrovia City Corporation and Paynesville City Corporation, need more resources for solid waste management, community drainage maintenance, zoning enforcement, sanitation regulation, public education, and local disaster preparedness. Cities are the first line of defense.
The National Disaster Management Agency also needs increased support to strengthen early warning systems, improve flood-risk mapping, pre-position emergency supplies, coordinate evacuation and response efforts, and help communities prepare before disasters occur. Flood response should not begin only after homes are already underwater. A stronger disaster agency can help Liberia move from reaction to preparedness.
The EPA needs increased support to enforce environmental laws, protect wetlands, regulate development in sensitive areas, monitor flood-prone zones, strengthen permitting, and take action against illegal backfilling. The EPA has already undertaken difficult actions, including demolition exercises, uprooting corner stores and other illegal structures planted in wetlands, impounding trucks hauling red dirt for wetland backfilling, collaborating with the Ministry of Public Works to open strategic drainages, intensifying public education and awareness, planning billboards in strategic locations, and deploying wetland security officers to vulnerable areas. These efforts have produced some positive results, but the situation remains overwhelming because violations are too many and resources are too limited. Wetlands are not useless land. They are natural infrastructure. They absorb water, reduce flood risk, filter pollution, and protect communities.
The Liberia National Police also needs logistical support to help enforce stop orders, remove illegal obstructions, protect inspectors, and support government action against illegal construction in wetlands and waterways. Environmental enforcement cannot succeed if inspectors and city officials are left alone to confront violators.
The message is clear: stop backfilling wetlands. Stop building in waterways. Stop blocking drainages. Stop throwing garbage into gutters. Stop treating public land and natural systems as private property.
Monrovia is not far from Accra. The same rain can fall here. The same blocked drains, weak enforcement, poor planning, and wetland destruction can produce the same tragedy. The difference is whether we act before the flood or cry after it.
Liberia must choose prevention over reaction. If we protect our wetlands, clear our drainages, plan our cities, enforce our laws, and fund the institutions responsible for resilience, Monrovia can avoid the worst. But if we continue business as usual, Accra’s tragedy will not remain Ghana’s story. It will become Monrovia’s future.
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