Torrential rain on Monday, June 29, overwhelmed drainage systems across the capital, turning streets into rivers within hours. The upscale Tse Addo neighborhood was among the hardest hit, with floodwaters submerging luxury vehicles, while in Tema Community 18, floodwaters swept through the Balona warehouse, washing away goods and leaving residents scrambling to salvage what they could. The BBC reported that at least 13 people have died in Accra as families count the cost of destroyed homes, roads, and businesses.
This isn’t Ebo Noah’s first brush with national attention over predictions of catastrophic flooding. Late last year, he built roughly ten wooden arks with the help of local fishermen after claiming God had warned him the world would end through three years of continuous rain beginning December 25, 2025. Thousands reportedly traveled to his ark sites ahead of Christmas Day expecting the prophesied flood, only for Ebo Noah to announce on Christmas Day itself that the disaster had been “postponed” following what he described as a fresh revelation. Authorities arrested him days later, on December 31, in the Weija-Gbawe area of Accra while he was livestreaming, over concerns his claims were spreading panic and disinformation. He was formally charged with false communication and publishing false news, remanded in custody, and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at Pantang Psychiatric Hospital to determine his fitness to stand trial.
Now, with real flooding underway, Ebo Noah has resurfaced to argue events are proving him right. In a video posted to Instagram announcing his release, he urged Ghanaians to remain steadfast in prayer, saying what he had foreseen was beginning to come to pass. He has maintained that he never claimed to be a pastor or prophet in any formal sense, saying he was simply the messenger for a warning he was instructed to deliver — and that his arrest, rather than discrediting him, only strengthens his case now that lives and property have been lost. He has also cautioned that more flooding could occur in the coming weeks, urging people to stay alert.
Not everyone is convinced. Ghanaian musician Okyeame Kwame publicly pushed back on Ebo Noah’s framing of the floods as divine punishment, arguing the real causes are poor environmental management and inadequate urban planning — pointing to blocked gutters, illegal mining, deforestation, and weak waste management as the practical, fixable culprits behind Ghana’s recurring flood disasters, rather than any supernatural warning.
On the official response, Ghana’s Interior Minister issued a public apology following the floods, which authorities say claimed at least nine lives and destroyed significant property across the capital. President John Mahama has since ordered the demolition of all structures built on waterways in an effort to restore natural drainage and prevent similar flooding going forward — a move that will likely affect informal settlements and businesses that have encroached on Accra’s waterways over the years.
The episode has reignited a broader conversation in Ghana about the influence of self-proclaimed prophets on public behavior, and where the line sits between religious freedom and public safety when prophecies cause panic, encourage risky decisions, or — as critics argue — distract from practical infrastructure fixes that could actually prevent future disasters.
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