A displaced people’s camp in Bor town in Jonglei State has been hit by the floods caused by torrential rains, disrupting daily businesses, residents and camp officials said.
Many affected people at the IDP camp and surrounding areas told Radio Tamazuj Friday that their livelihoods had been affected, and they could not go about their routine farming activities since the floods started last week.
A camp resident called Hoth Rambang said his crops were under the deluge.
“We have all been farming because the food aid given to us is insufficient, but everything we planted like maize, dura, and vegetables have been destroyed,” he said. “Now, the floodwaters are entering the camp through the main gate and other openings in the walls, affecting Block 11 and Block 12 areas.”
Elizabeth Joseph, another camp resident, called on government and aid agencies to come to their rescue and warned that the situation could deteriorate in the coming weeks.
“We have been cut off from the rest of the town for five days now because of torrential rains and water coming from the bushes. Accessing the main road takes over an hour. This is difficult for pregnant women and young children,” she said, adding. “The water level in the farms surrounding our residence is waist high, and we are appealing for sandbags and tools to tackle the floods.”
For his part, Makuach Mun, the camp’s chairperson, said youths have tried to combat the floods but failed because they lacked logistical support. He warned that the situation could worsen for the thousands of displaced people in the coming weeks if no aid reaches them.
“Inside the camp, people in blocks 4 and 8 have been displaced, and several households are affected,” he said.“Diarrhoea and malaria cases are also on the rise, and we are calling for humanitarian intervention because the flooding is affecting the whole population of 4500 people.”
The Bor IDP camp, formerly a UN peacekeepers-manned Protection of Civilians Site (POC), is home to slightly over 4,000 displaced people who fled their homes after the civil war erupted in 2013.