The increasing rates of sea level rise caused by global warming within the 21st century are expected to exacerbate inundation and episodic flooding tide in low-lying coastal environments. This development threatens both human development and natural habitats within such coastal communities. The impact of sea level rise will be more pronounced in developing countries where there is limited adaptation capacity. This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the expected impacts of sea level rise in three communities in the Dansoman coastal area of Accra, Ghana. Future sea level rises were projected based on global scenarios and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization General Circulation Models—CSIRO_MK2_GS GCM. These were used in the SimCLIM model based on the modified Bruun rule and the simulated results overlaid on near vertical aerial photographs taken in 2005. It emerged that the Dansoman coastline could recede by about 202 m by the year 2100 with baseline from 1970 to 1990. The potential impacts on the socioeconomic and natural systems of the Dansoman coastal area were characterized at the Panbros, Grefi and Gbegbeyise communities. The study revealed that about 84% of the local dwellers is aware of the rising sea level in the coastal area but have poor measures of adapting to the effects of flood disasters. Analysis of the likely impacts of coastal inundation revealed that about 650,000 people, 926 buildings and a total area of about 0.80 km² of land are vulnerable to permanent inundation by the year 2100. The study has shown that there will be significant losses to both life and property by the year 2100 in the Dansoman coastal community in the event of sea level rise.

Flood damage in West Africa has increased appreciably during the last two decades. Poor communities are more at risk due to the vulnerability of their livelihoods, especially in rural areas where access to services and infrastructures is limited. The aim of this paper is to identify the main factors that contribute to flood risk of rural communities in the Oti River Basin, Togo. A community-based disaster risk index model is applied. The analyses use primary data collected through questionnaires during fieldwork, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, population and housing census data and flood hazard mapping of the study area. The results showed a moderate level of flood risk despite a high level of hazard and vulnerability for all investigated communities. In addition, the results suggest that decreasing vulnerability through creation of new income-generating opportunities and increasing capacity of communities to manage their own flood risk should be paramount in order to reduce flood risk in the study area. The results of this work contribute to the understanding of flood risk and can be used to identify, assess, and compare flood-prone areas, as well as simulating the impacts of flood management measures in the Oti River Basin.

In the Volta River Basin, flooding has been one of the most damaging natural hazards during the last few decades. Therefore, flood frequency estimates are important for disaster risk management. This study aims at improving knowledge of flood frequencies in the Volta River Basin using regional frequency analysis based on L-moments. Hence, three homogeneous groups have been identified based on cluster analysis and a homogeneity test. By using L-moment diagrams and goodness of fit tests, the generalized extreme value and the generalized Pareto distributions are found suitable to yield accurate flood quantiles in the Volta River Basin. Finally, regression models of the mean annual flood with the size of the drainage area, mean basin slope and mean annual rainfall are proposed to enable flood frequency estimation of ungauged sites within the study area.

Erosion is a major global challenge facing coastal regions, and it is projected to increase on a regional to global scale as sea levels continue to rise. Deltas, which are important ecosystems, are particularly vulnerable due to their low-lying nature, subsidence, reduction in sediment supply, population increase, and exposure to an increasing frequency of extreme events. The need for sustainable management of these systems requires accurate estimates of shoreline dynamics at the local scale and higher spatial resolutions for engineering and decision making. We have assessed the shoreline dynamics of the Volta River delta in Ghana for a medium term of 12 years using high-resolution satellite imagery. The shoreline change rates are correlated with wave dynamics to explain the observed shoreline evolution within the delta. Our results confirm that erosion dominates the studied coasts with rates reaching as high as 31 m/yr close to the mouth of the delta where the water level shows a strong relationship with the shoreline change. These rates are evidenced by the destruction of fishing villages such as Fuveme located close to the mouth. Anthropogenic factors, such as the construction of sea defense projects, are also influencing erosion patterns across the study area. We recommend a softer approach for coastal management within the delta.