Tonj North flooding leaves over 46,000 citizens displaced  

JUBA – More than 46,000 people who have been displaced by floods in Tonj North County of South Sudan’s Warrap State are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, a lawmaker representing the area at the national parliament in Juba said.

The flood victims, most of them depending on agriculture for their food and income, have seen their houses and lands destroyed and flooded by torrential rains.

Speaking to Sudans Post yesterday, Kornelio Mawien Dhor, a member of transitional national parliament representing Tonj North County of Warrap State said the flood victims need food, clothes, medicines, and shelter to cope with the traumatized situation that has befallen them.

“The situation in the area is really very bad in terms of livelihood, food, and shelter, and health issues. The area has been submerged by flooding. There is a high need for the host community to be assisted,” Mawien told Sudans Post in an inclusive interview on Thursday in Juba.

Mawien disclosed that heavy floods have forced people into high-land areas leaving them with nothing to feed on.

“The situation of the flood is very bad and there was no response made on our side and this should be another opportunity for NGOs to go and make an assessment and try to do something for flood victims,” he said.

“It is the whole area of Tonj North near Torch which has been affected by the flooding. I can say it is the whole population of Tonj North that needs to be assisted. The population of Tonj North is about 46, 000,” he added.

The lawmaker called on humanitarian organizations to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the impact of the flooding on the affected communities in Tonj North.

“It is unfortunate that there was no assessment made so far in Warrap State and there is a high need for the humanitarian community to do something in the area,” he said.

He said that affected families are exposed to severe colds and other illnesses.

“They are facing health complications such as water-borne diseases including diarrhea infection and hygiene issues and there are other diseases are affecting people in the area and I am appealing to the humanitarian organizations to visit the area,” he said.

More than 700,000 people were reported to have been affected by flooding since May in eight of the country’s 10 states – with Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile being worst affected.

Dozens of properties are reported to have been submerged in the flooding, with others becoming inaccessible due to waterlogged roads.