Africa-Press – South-Sudan. By Jacob Bol Mayar
The authorities of Duk County of Jonglei State called on the humanitarians to assist over 700 people who were displaced by last flooding to the highland of Gadiang with plastic sheets, food assistance, clean water, mosquito nets, blankets and medications.
John Chatim, The Commissioner of Duk County said that people of Gadiang are in desperate need of food assistance and clean water, blankets, mosquito nets and medications after being asked by humanitarian organizations to move from flooded areas to highland areas.
“The number of people displaced to Gadiang increases day by day and the current recorded number is 704 vulnerable people but we didn’t know the current number because there is no access of network, the only access of communication is radio communication and this people’s settlement after the humanitarians asked the people from flooded area to highland and Gadiang is highland which cannot be flooded and migration started in January and February”. Chatim said
He added thatState government of Jonglei asked the humanitarians to assist the vulnerable people in Gadiang with medication and access to clean water, food assistance by establishing hand pump boreholes and blankets.
In South Sudan, an estimated 780,000 people in 31 counties were reported as affected by flooding since May 2021. People in Jonglei, Unity, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and the Upper Nile States, are the worst affected people by the floods. Flooding has led to widespread collapse of livelihoods, severely affecting the ability of households to maintain livestock decreasing community and household coping capacities.Areas like Duk, Ayod and Fangak has experienced four flooding events. Unusually, flooding in January occurred outside of the rainy season, indicating that rainfall is not the only trigger for flooding in the county. Rather, it is likely that excess water coming from upstream overwhelmed the absorbing capacity of the local swamps, which may have still contained water from the previous rainy season. Floods in Duk County has prevented people from cultivating their lands since 2020-2021, and has resulted in populations converging on highlands and further to Sudan. Given the trends of floods, it is difficult for communities to continue living in Fangak, alternative measures for livelihood are important.
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