The Government of South Sudan on Tuesday asked people living in flood-prone areas to relocate to higher grounds due to anticipated floods.
Speaking during a visit to Aweil in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State on Tuesday, Humanitarian Affairs Minister Albino Akol Atak said the government has started preparing for the relocation of people from severely affected areas to high grounds.
The visit aimed to assess the situation and determine necessary flood mitigation measures to protect the residents and their livelihoods from the floods expected to hit in September.
The high-level delegation was composed of senior government officials and representatives from the United Nations (UN).
“We must tell every citizen in Northern Bahr el Ghazal that there is flooding and they must know. It also means that if your area is affected, please move to higher ground together with your cattle and other livestock,” Akol said. “We need also to tell them that while they are moving, please be peaceful to the host community and the target is to tell them to move within the counties and the state.”
For her part, Anita Kiki Gbeho, the UN Resident Coordinator in South Sudan, promised to avail resources to states to help them respond to floods.
“I wanted to reinforce the point that the minister made around getting this document that set out the priorities because when we go back, we are going to look at all the information and the little resources we have so that we see how to allocate them to different states and counties to help you respond,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Governor Simon Ober Mawut revealed that the recent rains have already devastated most parts of the state.
“So far, the counties of Aweil South, Aweil East, and parts of Aweil West have been badly affected by rains,” he stated. “It is only one county, Aweil Center, that is not badly affected and that is the only place where we encourage people to relocate to.”
South Sudan is expected to experience the worst floods following a rise in the water level of Lake Victoria in Uganda, the largest freshwater lake in the region, according to the Ministry of Water Resource and Irrigation.
Due to the rise of water levels, Uganda is expected to release 2,400 cubic meters per second from its dam in Jinja which is equivalent to 800 water tanks per second pouring downstream into South Sudan.
However, the South Sudan irrigation ministry reported that Uganda has reduced water release from 2,600 cubic meters to 2,400 cubic meters per second following the reduction of water levels in Lake Victoria.
In South Sudan, most of the settlements in Jonglei, Lakes, Unity, Upper Nile, and Warrap states have already been affected and are expected to experience unprecedented floods from September.