More than 100,000 displaced by floods in South Sudan

A child walks through mud in a flooded section of an IDP camp in Malakal on July 9, 2014. South Sudan is prone to floods and the latest floods have resulted in the displacement of over 100,000 people. PHOTO | ALI NGETHI | AFP

What you need to know:

  • South Sudan is prone to recurrent floods every year in the rainy season, between May and October, which threatens the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people

  • Over 70,000 individuals and 1,590 households affected in Awiel and 40,000 others in Maban county. Other regions like Jonglei and Lol have also reported high figures

JUBA, Wednesday 

Over 100,000 people in central and northern South Sudan have been displaced by floods triggered by torrential rains in the past month, worsening the already fragile humanitarian situation, a senior relief official told Xinhua Wednesday.

Mr Gatwech Peter Kulang, undersecretary for the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Risk Management, said heavy rains have devastated thousands of families, leaving over 100,000 people displaced.  

“We are talking of over 70,000 individuals and 1,590 households affected in Awiel and 40,000 others in Maban county. Other regions like Jonglei and Lol have also reported high figures,” Mr Kulang said.

“The situation is alarming which demands urgent intervention.”

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION 

South Sudan is prone to recurrent floods every year in the rainy season, between May and October, which threatens the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people.

Kulang said the floods could worsen the already dire humanitarian situation across the war-torn country, including the spread of cholera, which has killed over 300 people and infected nearly 20,000 others in the past year. “We call upon the humanitarian community to join hands with the government to rescue this alarming situation,” he said.

South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of conflict, displacing some 4 million people internally and externally, with the United Nations warning that another 6 million people remain severely food insecure.