About 380,000 people have been affected by heavy flooding in South Sudan, where flooding rivers have forced thousands of families to leave their homes, the United Nations Agency for Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said on Tuesday (August 31). .
Almost three-quarters of those affected are in two states - Unity and Jonglei - Ocha said in a briefing note, warning that "more heavy rains and flooding (are) expected in the coming months."
"Accessibility is a major challenge, the majority of the areas affected by the floods being inaccessible by road", which complicates the delivery of humanitarian aid to the populations, the agency said.
According to a displaced person, Michael Gai, who fled with his family to Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, many residents are trapped and cannot reach safer areas.
"The floods are coming from all directions - east, south, north and west," he told AFP.
"A lot of people have left the flooded areas, but there are some, more vulnerable, who have stayed, they cannot move," he said, adding that the elderly were particularly at risk.
Early seasonal rains
Rising water levels triggered by early seasonal rains caused floods and inundated vast farmlands, sweeping away livestock and destroying fragile traditional dwellings, a year after record flooding that affected some 700,000 people.
About 100,000 people displaced last year have still not been able to return home, especially with the relentless rains, some land remained submerged for more than a year, according to Ocha.
In addition to climatic hazards, South Sudan, independent since 2011, is still suffering the consequences of the five-year civil war which left nearly 400,000 dead between 2013 and 2018.
With AFP
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR