Flooding in Kongder County of South Sudan’s Aweil State has worsened the humanitarian situation, a local official said.
Speaking on Radio Tamazuj’s With the Commissioners program, Kongder County Commissioner Paul Gong Kuc said most areas in Kongder are covered by floodwaters, which has worsened the humanitarian and health conditions in the county.
He pointed out that food and medicines are lacking in the area. "Organizations are unable to deliver aid to us because we use boats to cross Kueng River to the other bank,” Kuc explained.
The local official further said several people, mainly expectant mothers and children, have died due to lack of medicines. He urged the relevant authorities to urgently send humanitarian aid to his county.
Close to 1 million people in many parts of South Sudan 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.
South Sudan 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.