50,000 uprooted by floods from homes in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Yakani urges gov’t to intervene

AWEIL – Over 50,000 households in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal state have been displaced by floods and prominent activist Edmund Yakani is urging the national authorities in the country’s capital Juba to take immediate steps to avert what he warned may turn into a catastrophic nation-wide humanitarian crisis.

Important state infrastructures have been submerged by water including schools, health center and roads and several people have since died as a result of snake bite.

Last week, Governor Tong Akeen Ngor directed the state minister of roads and bridges “to carry out a quick assessment with immediate action to repair the disconnected roads to facilitate the movement of people and commodities between Aweil Town, Aweil East and Merem.”

The governor also appealed to the national authorities such as the ministry of humanitarian affairs and disaster management “to intervene on the dire Humanitarian situations in the State due to heavy floods which devastated the farms and shelters of people across the State.

In a statement extended to Sudans Post this afternoon, Yakani who is also the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) called on the national authorities in Juba to intervene on an emergency basis to avert the disaster.

“The floods situation in northern Bahr el Ghazal State is threatening the population especially in Aweil East, Aweil West, Aweil north and some parts of Aweil Centre and already a big number of rural populations estimated to be over 50,000 families in affected counties of the northern Bahr el Ghazal State are displayed, their livelihood is destroyed, social services centres such as schools and some rural community’s clinics destroyed,” Yakani said.

“Incidences of snake bites that lead to death are on speedy rise and sooner water borne diseases cases will rise too. The great challenge is that the road for access to the population at risk is cutoff by the floods. Similar situation is face communities of Gogrial East County of Warrap state,” he added.

Yakani who is currently in Aweil said “the situation has terribly shocked the communities affected by the floods. It is a national humanitarian crisis that requires political leadership to take on mitigating the threats posted to our population affected by the floods.”

He said “the central government has to hold floods mitigation conference and establish Floods Response Fund with specific focus on those communities affected by the floods across the country. The national floods mitigation conference can easily attract attention of friends of South Sudan and persons of good will to support our communities affected with floods.”

“It is time also for the other states that are not affected with the floods to take solidarity stand of mobilizing support for the fellow communities affected with floods across the country. The chance of the floods also increasing incidences of insecurity due to clash over land space or access to food is higher.

“States governors have to constitute floods response teams in each state either to mitigation floods pressure on the communities or mitigate possible deadly clashes among the communities over access to food or land.”