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More than a million people in South Sudan have been affected by widespread flooding, the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA has reported. Over a quarter of those, especially in the north, have been displaced by rising waters.
Many of the displaced have sought refuge on higher ground, but heavy rains are hampering efforts to deliver aid to those in need. This is one of the worst flood seasons South Sudan, with a population of over 11 million, has faced in decades.
In the eastern region of Pibor alone, around 112,000 people have lost their homes, according to a local government relief agency. “Those who fled to higher ground don’t even have food; they left everything behind,” Joseph Nyao, Director of Relief and Rehabilitation said.
The government is urging people in flood-prone areas to move immediately to safer grounds identified by local authorities. “The water level is still rising, and displacement is continuing,” Nyao warned.
Back in May, the government had alerted the international community about the risk of exceptional floods. Since the rains began, 15 major supply routes have become impassable, affecting the delivery of vital humanitarian aid to some 500,000 people.
This disaster comes amid South Sudan’s ongoing struggle to cope with the influx of over half a million refugees and returnees fleeing the 18-month civil war in neighboring Sudan. OCHA warns that South Sudan’s already strained humanitarian response is now severely overstretched.
