Over 30,000 displaced by floods in Lakes State’s Awerial County
An estimated 30,836 people have been displaced by heavy flooding in Awerial County of Lakes State.
Adhum Achol Geu, Deputy Chairperson of Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Lakes State, said that Awerial County has been experiencing heavy rains since April, adding that the flooding worsened in late September when the Nile River Nile banks burst.
“Flooding has sub-merged most of the areas of Awerial County, including Awerial Center which is mostly affected as well as part of Kalthok and Bunagok,” Geu told The Juba Echo in an interview on Monday.
He disclosed that 3,709 homes have been destroyed as result of floods.
Geu noted that displaced most of the displaced people are women, children, and the elderly who he said have been transferred to higher grounds.
“The affected households reported were 7,709 households affected with a population of 30,836 individuals and the category of individuals affected are mostly elderly people, women, and children,” Geu said.
No casualties have been reported but many people are homeless, he added.
He appealed to humanitarian actors to support flood victims with food, shelter, and health supplies before the situation worsens.
“We are requesting humanitarian organizations operating within Awerial County to conduct a rapid assessment such that they identify the basic needs of the affected population,” Geu said.
South Sudan has been battling to respond to victims of flooding since last year after more than 900,000 people were affected in states like Jonglei, Upper Nile, and Lakes state.
