West Africa: Deadly West Africa Floods Raise Questions About Liberia's Preparedness As Heavy Rains Continue

Summary

Heavy floods across West Africa, including Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Nigeria, are raising renewed concerns about Liberia's flood preparedness as the rainy season intensifies.

In Liberia, early flooding has already been reported in parts of Montserrado County, with authorities activating emergency response systems amid forecasts of continued heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.

Officials and experts warn that weak drainage systems, wetland encroachment, rapid urban growth, and intense rainfall are driving worsening flood risks, with farmers and urban residents already reporting significant damage and displacement.

"Flooding is becoming one of the most serious environmental and public safety concerns in Liberia, especially as rainfall patterns become more intense and less predictable," said Emmanuel Urey Yarkpawolo, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, in an interview with this reporter.

The warning comes as Liberia enters July under continued rainfall and flood alerts, while neighboring Ghana Côte d'Ivoire, and Nigeria grapple with deadly floods that have killed dozens, destroyed homes, and displaced thousands.

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In Liberia, authorities say the impacts are already visible in parts of Montserrado County following recent heavy rains, with assessments and drone surveillance confirming flash flooding, waterlogging, and damage in vulnerable communities. The National Disaster Management Agency has activated its emergency response system as forecasts from the Liberia Meteorological Service indicate continued rain and thunderstorms in the early days of July.

While neighboring countries recover from deadly flooding, the impacts are already being felt in Liberia.

"This is exactly what we have here now. This was a vegetable farm. Everything has been submerged," said Cooper Gweh, a farmer in Montserrado County, speaking in a Facebook live video while standing in floodwater that had covered what he said was about six acres of farmland.

He said the land had been dry just a day earlier before heavy rains flooded the entire area.

"All the vegetables are under water, chemicals, labor, money, effort--everything is gone in 24 hours," he said.

"We have moved from vegetable farming to water farming," he added, attempting a laugh as he described the damage.

Gweh said his experience reflects what many farmers in surrounding communities are currently facing, warning that the situation may be worse than what is immediately visible.

"This is just a tip of the iceberg. I just wanted to share mine," he said.

"We are already seeing flooding in parts of Monrovia following recent heavy rainfall, and more communities could be affected if the rains continue," said Ansu Dulleh, Executive Director of the National Disaster Management Agency, speaking at a Ministry of Information press briefing.

Dulleh warned that continued rainfall could worsen conditions in low-lying areas with poor drainage systems, blocked waterways, and unregulated construction in wetlands.

He said preliminary drone assessments indicate that more than a thousand houses could be affected, with residents likely to be displaced as flash floods spread across vulnerable communities.

The agency has activated its flood preparedness and response system and is currently collecting data through field teams, the Red Cross, and other partner institutions. Relief distribution, he said, will follow once assessments are completed and data is disaggregated, stressing that "government is prepared for that this time around."

Concerns about Liberia's flood preparedness are not new.

During the 2025 rainy season, the National Disaster Management Agency cautioned that it was operating with limited resources and weak preparedness capacity at a time when large-scale flooding risks were increasing.

At the time, Executive Director Ansu Dulleh warned that response systems were under strain, citing funding gaps, limited logistics, and weak operational capacity as major constraints in managing flood emergencies.

He said the agency lacked sufficient support to respond to the scale of risks being projected, even as heavy rainfall patterns were expected to intensify across the country.

Despite those warnings, flooding has already begun again this year in parts of Montserrado County as Liberia enters another peak rainy period.

According to the Liberia Meteorological Service's Climate and Health Bulletin for June 2026, rainfall is expected to range between 218.7 millimeters and 754.2 millimeters, indicating moderate to very heavy rainfall across the country, with coastal and southern counties likely to receive the highest levels.

Grand Cape Mount, Bomi and Montserrado Counties are among the areas expected to experience intensified rainfall activity during the season.

The bulletin warns of very high humidity levels between 88 and 90 percent, meaning the air will be heavily saturated with moisture, which can slow drainage and make floodwater linger longer in urban areas.

The Meteorological Service's early July bulletin forecasts continued rain and thunderstorms across several parts of the country during the first days of the month.

Climate policy advocate Ezekiel Nyanfor, founder and executive director of Liberian Youth for Climate Actions, said Liberia should not view recurring floods as isolated disasters but as the result of both changing rainfall patterns and longstanding governance challenges.

"Liberia is one of the wettest countries in the world, and Monrovia is among the wettest capital cities globally," he said. "Climate change is contributing to more intense rainfall, but our own actions are making the impacts much worse."

World Bank data show Liberia receives between 2,000 and 5,000 millimeters of rainfall annually, while Monrovia averages about 4,600 millimeters a year, among the highest for any capital city worldwide.

Nyanfor, said poor waste management, plastic pollution, construction in wetlands, and weak urban planning continue to block drainage systems and increase flooding.

He argued that Liberia's disaster strategy remains too focused on responding after floods occur instead of investing in resilience.

"We should invest more in disaster resilience than disaster response," he said. "Adaptation costs less than repeatedly responding to disasters, and it protects lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure before communities are affected."

A report by the Global Center on Adaptation warns that climate hazards such as floods and droughts are increasingly interacting with weak infrastructure, rapid urbanization, and limited coping capacity across Africa, worsening vulnerability in fast-growing cities.

These findings are also reflected in observations from environmental regulators and disaster officials interviewed for this story.

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"Much of Monrovia is naturally low-lying and wetland-based," said Yarkpawolo. "Wetlands serve as natural water retention systems, but when they are filled or built upon, the water has nowhere to go."

He said rapid urban growth, weak enforcement of land-use rules, and expansion into wetlands are major drivers of recurring floods.

The Environmental Protection Agency says enforcement efforts this year have included demolition of illegal structures in wetlands, installation of warning signs, arrests of trucks involved in illegal backfilling, and deployment of 20 wetland security officers.

"Flood prevention is not the responsibility of one institution alone," Yarkpawolo said, stressing the need for coordination across government agencies.

Health officials warn that stagnant floodwater could increase malaria transmission, particularly in coastal counties, while high humidity may also affect the storage of medicines. Residents are being advised to clear stagnant water, sleep under insecticide-treated mosquito nets, and seek early treatment for malaria symptoms.

Flood-related deaths in Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Nigeria have drawn renewed attention to West Africa's vulnerability to extreme rainfall events, especially in urban areas with weak drainage systems.

While Liberia has not recorded comparable fatalities this season, disaster officials say early flooding reports and continued rainfall forecasts highlight the need for sustained preparedness through the peak of the rainy season.

"Flooding is not only a disaster management issue; it is also an environmental governance, urban planning, and public health issue," said Yarkpawolo.

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