By Maxwell Agbagba
TRT Afrika, Accra
It is 7.18am on what appears to be a cheerful Sunday for many Ghanaian families in Accra as they prepare to leave for church or go about their business without the usual weekday bustle.
Suddenly, a series of jolts breaks their reverie. Cries of "earthquake...earthquake" rent the crisp morning air, followed by panic-stricken feet scampering to the relative safety of open spaces.
You might think people of a neighbourhood sitting on top of a seismic fault line would be used to living with tremors.
But as 18-year-old Nancy Monyo will testify, no degree of awareness prepares you mentally for an earthquake that could strike any moment.
Nancy's family lives in a suburb called Kasoa in the Ghanaian capital. Like most city residents, the frequency of seismic activity in and around Accra this year worries her.
"I feel a big one is coming. This is where I live with my parents; I can't relocate," she tells TRT Afrika.
The latest tremors shook Accra on the morning of November 12. The earthquake, measured at 3.8 magnitude on the Richter scale, was preceded by one of 2.8 magnitude on March 10.
On December 12, 2022, parts of the capital experienced three tremors in five hours. The initial one happened at 6.53am in the western part of Accra, followed by a second occurrence at 10 am in the exact location. The third one took place at 11.53am.
On the edge
Some African countries have experienced a number of major earthquakes over the past decades with the latest devastating being the one that hit Morocco in September.
Alerts from the Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) about recurrent seismic activity in the region portending a stronger earthquake have added to residents' fears.
Johnson Quaye, a 25-year-old resident of Weija-Kasoa Ridge, is resigned to living in a seismic zone. What bothers him more is how many residents are shearing the hills of vegetation to construct buildings.
"The speed at which concrete structures are sprouting is ominous," says Johnson.
Warnings from the city authorities have mostly gone unheeded. Johnson knows the area might have to pay the price for this but admits there is little he or anyone else can do about it.
Nonchalance is his armour now. "It's like waiting for disaster to strike. I have no choice but to continue living here," he says.
Low resilience
Nicholas Opoku, principal seismologist at the GGSA, said he isn't as concerned about a strong earthquake as he is about Accra's preparedness.
"If a place is experiencing frequent seismic jolts, it indicates that a bigger one is about to happen. We have had major earthquakes in the past in the same sequence," he tells TRT Afrika.
"For now, we aren't ready for that. You must have a lot of preparedness for earthquakes that have been scientifically predicted. One important aspect is building resilient infrastructure. Mitigation in terms of infrastructural resilience will take a long time."
Opoku recalls how a report compiled after the devastating 1939 earthquake recommended a raft of measures for Accra, based on a prognosis of seismic impact.
"The report recommended that the capital be moved to a more central portion of Ghana," he says.
The 1939 earthquake, a 6.6-magnitude one, remains the West African country's deadliest, causing 17 casualties and injuries to 133 others.
The National Disaster Management Organisation of Ghana blames indiscriminate construction over identified fault lines for Accra's increasing vulnerability to earthquakes.
Seji Saji Amedonu, the organisation's director general in charge of technical reforms, believes the civic authorities must immediately crack down on rampant illegal construction in the Weija area.
For its part, the GGSA has been anchoring an intensive public awareness campaign in schools, markets and other places to educate people on what they can do during an earthquake.
As Ghana grapples with the looming threat rumbling beneath its soil, the need for preparedness is higher than ever.
The fear-laden echoes of past earthquakes resonate, urging the nation to fortify its foundations against the unpredictable forces of nature.
