Floods Render Hundreds Homeless in Southern Sudan

Hundreds of families have been displaced by floods in Bilpham area of Western Bahr el Ghazal State.

The heavy rains that pounded the area on Tuesday night left between 100 and 200 homes submerged in water.

The residents described horrible encounters with reptiles including crocodiles that attacked them, even as government help was yet to arrive.

Helicopters hovered around the affected area to look for anything to save as residents fled their homes with whatever they could salvage.

The rains have damaged several houses and infrastructure, including the railway line that was rehabilitated a few months ago.

Many buildings have also had their roofs blown off while the floods have cut off many areas.

An area resident Peter Manyuat Upieu said he lost all his property in the raging waters as he could do nothing to help.

“All my family’s assets including chicken, goats and crops have been washed away by the floods. We have only managed to save the lives of our children and pregnant women and as we were moving them to higher grounds, we found everything gone”, he said.

The new Jur River County Commissioner Wol Dhiel Thiep visited the area to assess the damage although no official response from the government had been heard by the time of going to press.

Area residents blamed the flooding on the construction of the railway line, which they said led to the blockage of four outlets and the remaining outlet cannot sustain the high flow of water, especially during heavy rains.