Republic of South Sudan appeals for international assistance to manage floods

Martin Jada Gabriel in AllAfrica.com via the government of South Sudan: The government of the Republic of South Sudan has appealed to the international community for support to help it manage floods currently affecting eight states leaving thousands hungry and displaced.

The government, despite the austerity budget, has put aside seven million pounds to manage the damages caused by the flood but this is not sufficient to address the consequences of the catastrophe. The flood, according to the minister for Cabinet Affairs, Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, was caused first by heavy rainfall and later by the River Nile which burst its banks due to the rising water levels.

Dr. Lomuro said it is difficult to access some places in Northern Bahr el Ghazal neither by land nor by air because it is challenging to differentiate between rivers and roads. He added that the situation is even worse since wild animals and human beings are sharing the little space left by the flood.

According to the latest news from Warrap state one person was killed by a crocodile while many more are under various risks associated with flooding. The minister for Gender, Child and Social Welfare Hon. Awut Deng Acuil said at least 150,000 people are in need of assistance. She said the number could double to 300,000 saying the assessment was not done well because some places affected were inaccessible.

The minister for Information and Broadcasting, Hon. Michael Makuei Lueth prioritized the urgent needs as food, tents, blankets and medicines for both human beings and animals. Meanwhile, the minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin called on the Asian countries especially China and Japan which have good flood management systems to assist South Sudan.

Orthographic projection of South Sudan, by Spesh531, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license