A 40-year-old woman died after she drowned in floodwaters in Awerial County of South Sudan’s Lakes State last Friday, a local official said.
The deceased has been identified as Nyaguar Guech Adut.
Mr. Chol Cindut, the Executive Director of Awerial County, told Radio Tamazuj that the 40-year-old woman drowned in floodwaters while attempting to cross a pool.
“Heavy rainfall has increased the level of floodwaters in the area, and this has caused massive displacement of the community from their villages. Crops such as sesame and groundnuts have been submerged by floods,” he said.
The local official appealed to the floods-affected villagers to move to higher ground to avoid the risk of losing lives and properties due to floods.
“We want the communities living near the riverside to evacuate to high grounds; this is to protect children and the elderly because the level of floodwaters has increased,” he said.
In March this year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warned that prolonged flooding and displacement in South Sudan were expected to worsen when the rainy season begins. The authorities, however, did not plan properly to cushion the citizens from the effects of floods.