Authorities say communities from the greater Duk county of Jonglei State have raised 53 million SSP and 200 cows to assist victims of floods that hit the area since July.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Duk Payuel County Commissioner Deng Achiek Jok said that the contributions were raised at fundraising events organized in Juba and Bor on November 30 and December 7 respectively. 

Achiek, who headed the fundraising committee, said the funds will be used to address the impact of floods in the greater Duk areas.

“We managed to raise 50,000,000 SSP during the Juba fundraising event. In Bor town on Sunday, we raised 3, 000, 000 SSP and 200 cows. Of these, an amount of 34,000 000 SSP is in cash and the rest are in pledges,” he said.

“We came up with this on learning there may be more floods next year. The money raised will be used to build dykes, open waterways, renovate the airstrips and directly support the vulnerable ones in Duk Padiet, Duk Panyang, Duk Payuel and Duk Pagak areas,” he added.

According to reports, close to 1 million people have been directly affected by flooding that destroyed 73,000 metric tons of potential harvests and wiped out tens of thousands of cattle and goats on which people depend for survival.

The government declared a state of emergency in late October in Bahr el Ghazal, Greater Upper Nile and Greater Equatoria because of the floods, calling for international assistance to be stepped up.