By Faith Nyasuguta
Over 380,000 people from South Sudan’s six states have been displaced by both flash floods and several waves of inter-communal clashes.
This has been revealed by the United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) which confirms that flooding, violence, food insecurity, and even Covid-19 continuously increased people’s humanitarian needs in August.
“People have been affected by flooding in six states since May, with Jonglei and Unity the most affected. Many of those affected moved to higher ground within their county and needed humanitarian assistance,” UNOCHA said.
“Recurring violence in Tambura town, Western Equatoria, displaced thousands of people and impacted humanitarian activities. More than 58,000 people from Tambura remained displaced in eight settlements since June.”
In a snapshot seen by Africa Equity Media, the agency added that in Juba County of Central Equatoria, violence between cattle keepers and host communities displaced some 10,000 people.
For the Tonj East County, Warrap, over 5,000 people were displaced. Further, some 2,000 people were displaced in Manyo County, Upper Nile following fighting between alleged rival military factions of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition.
“Fighting between armed factions in Yei County, Central Equatoria, displaced 700 people. Additional funding is needed to respond to the growing needs as a result of widespread flooding and violence,” the agency added.
In 2020, torrential rains and flash floods also displaced thousands of people and completely damaged a number of homes across South Sudan.
Statistics indicated that the most affected areas were in Jonglei, Pibor, Upper Nile, Unity, Western, and Eastern Equatoria states.
Weather projections show that heavy rainfall will continue in northern and central parts of South Sudan until mid of September.
FLOODS IN SUDAN
Separately in Sudan, floods have killed over 80 people and damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of homes, an official revealed early Tuesday morning.
“A total of 84 people were killed and 67 others injured in 11 states across Sudan since the beginning of the rainy season,” Abdel Jalil Abdelreheem, Sudan National Council for Civil Defense’s spokesman said.
The deaths were sparked by house collapses, drowning, and electrocution, he added. Over 8,000 houses have also been completely wiped out and over 27,200 damaged across the country.
Usually, torrential rains fall between June and October in Sudan with the nation facing severe flooding annually destroying property, crops and even infrastructure.
Data by the United Nations approximates that heavy rains and floods have affected about 102,000 people since July.
About 50 villages are currently submerged in the south of Sudan leaving 65,000 people displaced including refugees whose camp was inundated, the UN revealed in a last week’s report.
In 2020, heavy rains pushed Sudan into declaring a three-month state of emergency. The floods had affected over 650,000 people, completely destroying over 110,000 homes.
