The German Development Agency (GIZ)and partners have developed a Flood Risk Mobile Application that will enable individuals' check their levels of risk to floods and take the necessary precautionary measures.

The App called 'My Flood Risk Accra' developed under the Developing Risk Management Approaches for Climate and Health Risks (SAGABI) could be accessed on Google play and the apple store.

It gives information on flood response, recovery and insurance measures that could be taken to minimize impact.

Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, who disclosed this at a closeout session of the SAGABI, said it was jointly developed closely with the Ghana Meteorological Agency and three key Municipalities.

The SAGABI, which was a strategic Alliance between GIZ and Allianz joined forces with BIMA forming the Strategic Alliance GIZ, Allianz, BIMA sought to develop suitable risk management approaches for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.

The project also aimed at enabling underserved consumers to access simple and affordable mobile-delivered insurance and health services as well as to increase overall insurance awareness and health literacy.

Mr Sowah said through the project a contingency plan guideline and monitoring tool for cities, and urban resilience training manuals on disaster management had been developed.

"We have witnessed in this year, catastrophic disasters around major cities in the world. In the Upper West Region, roads have been washed away cutting of key food security routes and sections of our country with dire consequences on livelihoods and communities," he said.

Mr Sowah observed that over the years local authorities did not have the financial wherewithal to address challenges faced following disasters.

"That is why taking more proactive approaches in terms of disaster planning and management is the direction that local authorities working with relevant stakeholders," he noted.

According to him, the project had prepared the ground for implementing risk transfer solutions within an integrated flood risk management approach for Assemblies in GAMA.

Mrs Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, Country Director of GIZ Ghana, expressed her gratitude for the fruitful collaboration among key stakeholders for the achievements of the project.

She mentioned that flooding in Accra was still a yearly occurrence that had severe consequences, which was mostly felt by the urban poor.

"It has, therefore, become critical to look at strategies to address disasters and to manage them properly. That is why GIZ, through the SAGABI project, partnered with Allianz SE to develop a holistic approach including the possibility of risk transfer solutions – in short: Insurance."

Mrs Sibylle Steimen, the Managing Director, Advisory and Services of Allianz RE, mentioned that the flood insurance concept developed for Accra Metropolitan, Ga East Municipality and the Ga West Municipality was the first of its kind in the country.

She expressed the hope that the concept would generate into a product that could be seen on the Ghanaian market to help tackle the remaining risk of flood.