More Than 20,000 People Affected By Floods In Jonglei, South Sudan

By Jacob Achiek

BOR, August 9, 2016 [Gurtong] – Yearly, thousands of people face severe floods in the county because the county is a lowland lying on the eastern bank of Nile River.

In 2014, more than a thousand households became homeless, four primary health Care Units were destroyed following three days of consecutive heavy rainfall in October.

The county’s commissioner, Dau Akoi Jurkuch, says that the county’s villages are always affected by heavy rainfall and River Nile’s overflow in July and August of every year.

Akoi says that seven villages of Lual-Ajokbil, areas of Pinyleek, Piomhol, Bongbrong and heading to Pathian and Padiing are seriously affected by flood.

“Last week, heavy rains affected Nyuak  Payam especially. When your house has been flooded by the water then you move to the next one in the high ground,” Dau Akoi said.
 
He says crops were destroyed with exception of sorghum [dura]. Most displaced people have moved to the higher grounds.

Dau said that the assessment team is still there but that they have made an estimated number of 23,000 people affected, according to the villagers.
 
Akoi said county officials are trying to mobilize community members so that they make small dikes around residential areas, as an initiative to help the community from water diseases.