Worst Flooding In Decades Impacts 700,000 In South Sudan - UN Refugee Agency

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2021) The UN Refugee Agency is alarmed at the destructive consequences of the worst in decades flooding in South Sudan, which affected the lives of over 700,000 people, compounding a humanitarian crisis in a country already facing the triple threat of conflict, COVID-19, and hunger, UNHCR Representative in South Sudan Arafat Jamal said on Tuesday.

Flooding, triggered by early seasonal rainfall since August, has inundated farmland, killed livestock and destroyed homes in four states, forcing families to seek refuge on higher ground and in neighboring towns.

"As the worst flooding in decades impacts over 700,000 people across South Sudan, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is alarmed at the critical needs facing the most vulnerable," Jamal said at a press briefing in Geneva.

The UNHCR representative said that the agency, together with the humanitarian country team and the government, has been "delivering urgently needed support to the most affected, including hygiene items, food, emergency shelter and solar lanterns to provide light.

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Jamal stressed that the seasonal rains in South Sudan, which are expected to continue until the end of the year, will result in an "increase in the number of people needing humanitarian assistance," noting that climatic stresses "have sparked inter-communal conflict" between host communities and the displaced due to floods and drought.

The UNHCR representative praised the efforts of the government of South Sudan, which "has already allocated US$10M to flood response efforts," calling on the international community to "urgently assist affected communities to rebuild and protect people's lives and livelihoods."

The flood situation caused by heavy seasonal rains in South Sudan is worsening every year. The UN Refugee Agency reported that many communities have not witnessed flooding to this extent since 1962, while there are communities in South Sudan that have been affected by three years of consecutive flooding.