South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The government has been asked to relocate people living in flood-prone areas to higher ground amid looming floods in July this year.
Nhail Tiitmamer, Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Program at the Sudd Institute, think tank called on Sunday called on the government to prepare the ground for relocation of people from severely affected areas to high grounds.
“The government should prepare the ground for reallocations of people from severely affected areas to high grounds. This should include reaching out to host communities to accept to host flood IDPs,” Tiitmamer said in a statement on his Facebook page.
He said preparations should begin at individual level, family level, and community level, adding that this will make the efforts of the government and other stakeholders more effective.
“The response measures should include stocking of food, medicines, fuels (including diesel, petrol, jet fuel, fireood and charcoal where applicable) and other vital supplies and transporting them to hotshots,” Tiitmamer disclosed.
He said dykes and relevant infrastructure should be strengthened, and roads and airstrips should be protected.
“It is important to reallocate people to high grounds in their own areas or areas where they have social ties. For example, communities displaced in Bor County should be reallocated to a high ground in Bor County,” Tiitmamer said.
“And those displaced in Koch County can be reallocated to a high ground in Koch County or in a neighboring county where there is a social tie,” he added.
Tiitmamer noted that the government and humanitarian partners should then reach out to host communities in other areas for reallocation of those affected by floods.
“This will help lessen potential conflicts, diaspora communities and individuals whose communities are in the low lying areas should prepare just like they did in 2020, where they helped evacuate thousands of people who would have gotten stranded in the flood waters,” he said.
South Sudan is expected to experience the worst floods following rise in water level of the largest Lake in the region, Lake Victoria, according to the Ministry of Water Resource and Irrigation.
Due to the rise of water level in Jinja dam, neighboring Uganda is expected to release 2,400 cubic meters per second which is equivalent to 800 water tanks per second pouring downstream into South Sudan.
Already in South Sudan, most of the settlements which are affected are in Jonglei, Lakes, Unity, Upper Nile, and Warrap, and are already expected to experience unprecedented floods from around July.
