South Sudan: UNHCR Responding to Worst Flooding in Decades in South Sudan

Oct 19, 2021 | UNHCR
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Weeks of heavy rain have caused unrelenting floods, affecting more than 700,000 people across the country, UNHCR Representative in the country Arafat Jamal said on Tuesday.  

The rains have swept away homes and inundated farmlands, forcing families to seek safety on higher ground or in neighbouring towns. 

Mothers deeply worried 

Mr. Jamal said UNHCR teams in Upper Nile State alone, met around 1,000 people who had walked for seven days to reach Malakal, the state capital. 

“Women, children, and elderly people arrived exhausted and hungry,” he told journalists at the weekly UN humanitarian briefing in Geneva.  

“Some had not eaten in days. Others are marooned on islands surrounded by water, sheltering under trees and unable to cross to safety. Women are deeply worried about the health of their children, with the increased risk of infections from deadly water-borne diseases.”