The local authorities in the Jonglei State capital, Bor town, on Tuesday, started installing culverts and opening water channels to drain runoff water that has flooded parts of the town over the past weeks.
Since mid-May, parts of Bor town have remained submerged in floodwaters caused by days of heavy downpours, disrupting businesses.
James Gai Makoor, the Bor town mayor, told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that they had installed culverts in the most affected areas and that works were going on.
“Nigel, Langbar, Hai Fangak, Hai Muchuor, and parts of Referendum have been affected by the floods,” he said. “So, we started installing culverts yesterday (Tuesday). We completed the ones at the market and Kruma Junction. We are left with 10 to be installed in other parts of the town.”
“Bor will now be safe as we deliver services to our people. This is the work of Bor municipality and the state government with support from the ARC engineers,” he added.
Mary Atong, a resident of Bor, welcomed the government’s move to deal with the floods and said the floodwaters had significantly reduced.
“This flood is from rain. In Nigel where the tunnel was installed, there is no more (surface) water. Two days ago, water used to be at one’s thigh,” she said.
Abang Oman Gugu, a resident of Bor’s Fangak neighborhood, said they have been sleeping in a church for the last week due to the high water level.
“For a week now we have been sleeping at the church. We heard that the government is trying to drain the water but our houses are still full of water,” Oman said. “Maybe they are still working on it. We are really suffering and we will be happy if they open waterways.”
Earlier last month, officials in Bor announced the completion of a 24 Kilometer dyke to protect the town from floods caused by the River Nile bursting its banks.