ACCRA, Ghana (AFP) — The death toll from flooding that paralysed Ghana’s capital has risen to at least 12, emergency services said on Tuesday, after the government apologised for its handling of the disaster.

The floods, triggered by torrential rain that submerged roads and homes across the coastal city of Accra on Monday, prompted hundreds of rescues, with emergency crews working through the night.

“The death toll has risen to more than 12,” National Fire Service spokesman Alex King Nartey told local media.

“The number could increase because several people are still missing.”

Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak had said late on Monday that nine people had been killed.

Nartey said the victims included a married couple as well as a mother and child.

The fire service said it had rescued more than 400 people, with crews pumping water from homes and assisting stranded residents in flood-hit areas on Tuesday.

“We managed to rescue a lot of people,” Greater Accra Regional Fire Commander Rashid Kwame Nisawu told AFP.

The main opposition New Patriotic Party criticised the authorities’ handling of the disaster, saying it exposed weak governance and poor coordination.

Mubarak acknowledged on Monday that the government’s response could have been better.

“We are really very sorry for the loss of life,” he said in a television interview.

President John Mahama has ordered the immediate release of 300 million cedis (about $29 million) in contingency funds for relief efforts and flood mitigation measures.

He also ordered the deployment of the military and police to support rescue operations.

Mahama said 140 millimetres (5.5 inches) of rain fell on Accra in a single day — “the highest experienced in several years” and nearly triple last year’s high.

“That aspect of the problem is beyond our control because it is driven by changing climatic conditions,” he said on X.

But he also pointed to “the issue of human behaviour”, pledging a crackdown on illegal structures blocking waterways after visiting flooded communities on Monday.

Accra, home to more than five million people, experiences flooding almost every rainy season, but residents and experts say rapid urbanisation, clogged drains and construction on wetlands have made the capital increasingly vulnerable to severe storms.

The Ghana Meteorological Agency said rainfall had eased but warned saturated ground meant even lighter showers could trigger fresh flooding in low-lying areas.