South Sudan: Ongoing floods hit millions

By Benjamin Takpiny

JUBA, South Sudan (AA) - Many are searching for high ground in South Sudan as heavy rain and severe flooding have beset almost one million people across the country, with the deluge destroying housing, roads and schools.

Since July, South Sudan has experienced unprecedented rainfall and flooding, affecting an estimated 908,000 people, 620,000 of whom require immediate humanitarian assistance, the local UN humanitarian office told Anadolu Agency.

The rains have hit areas already grappling with serious humanitarian needs. Across the flooded areas, more than three million people required assistance even before the downpour, out of the over seven million people awaiting relief countrywide. Many communities have been cut off from health and food services, and rising waters have destroyed homes, displacing an estimated 420,000 people.

According to a report released by the UN World Food Programme, more than 60% of those affected by the floods are facing extreme levels of acute malnutrition. With the seasonal harvest now wiped out due to the floods -- 75,000 hectares of farmland -- families have lost what little food stocks they had, exacerbating food needs well into 2020.

Among health risks, cholera and malaria have increased while displacement has put additional pressure on already-strained host communities and washed-out roads make access difficult for humanitarian missions.

Floods have wrought havoc in more than 30 counties in the states of Jonglei, Upper Nile, Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Lakes, Central and Eastern Equatoria.

"There is a real emergency unfolding in Pibor and many other areas. Clinics, schools, churches and police stations are underwater. Entire communities are displaced, and if the waters continue to rise, they will be displaced again," said UN Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, Alain Noudehou.

"Women told me that they are trying to find dry fire wood to cook anything they can find, but children are going hungry. They have shown remarkable resilience and dignity, but are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the flooding," he said.

"Many donors have been generous and I call on others to join. I am releasing $10 million from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund for immediate assistance in the worst-hit areas," he added.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator and UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said in a statement that he hoped to receive $15 million from the UN central emergency response fund for relief efforts.

"This will allow us to assist over 600,000 people with emergency shelter, food, health services and clean water, as well as other life-saving support," said Lowcock.

In Buma State alone, 76 people have died in severe flooding that destroyed large swathes of farmland, according to local officials.

"It's very serious," Buma state Information Minister John Kaka told Anadolu Agency, adding that the floods had "destroyed farms and animals and claimed lives of human beings directly and through related diseases."

"The floods never happened to us as they have this year [...] Seventy-six people died from the beginning of September to November. Of these, 27 died in the floods," he added.

- Looming hunger crisis

A dire hunger crisis awaits residents even if the flood waters recede, Kaka said.

"We have nothing in the name of agriculture. There is no space for agriculture. The water may remain until March, so next year we'll face hunger unlike anything we've ever seen before," he added.

In an interview, the deputy chair of Juba's relief and rehabilitation commission, Santino Bol Muoter, told Anadolu Agency that flood damage to the region's farmlands had put the country on a path for severe food insecurity in 2020.

South Sudanese authorities are seeking support from friendly countries including China and South Africa in order to mitigate the coming food crisis with losses expected to reach 400,000 metric tons (441,000 tons) of cereal, he said.

"The challenges are rising. The food needs and food insecurity levels will be very dire -- there will be a serious food shortage as early as January 2020," he said.

- Current relief efforts

According to the UN, about 7,000 metric tons (over 7,700 tons) of food commodities have been distributed in flood-stricken areas of the country, providing some 704,000 people with ongoing emergency food assistance.

Additional response teams have been deployed in affected regions in order to rapidly expand distribution.

About 11,000 households in Ayod and Akobo counties have received agricultural inputs, vegetable seeds and fishing kits, while further distribution efforts continue in the Upper Nile, Jonglei, Unity and Abyei states, hoping to reach another 65,000 families.

About 2,500 households have been assisted with water, sanitation and hygiene packages, while another 9,000 have received emergency flood rapid response kits with distribution underway for another 12,000 families.

It is estimated that 23,000 households in priority locations remain in need of aid.

South Sudan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 27 in affected areas in almost 30 counties across the country.

The UN is coordinating a response in support of Juba in the most recently-flooded counties in Jonglei, Upper Nile, Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Lakes, and Central and Eastern Equatoria.

Further, Turkish disaster management authorities have sent flood-affected residents of Boma state 700 boxes of aid which have been received by senior South Sudanese officials.