Government orders people to vacate flood-prone areas

By Awan Achiek

The government on Wednesday ordered people living in flood-prone areas to immediately vacate and resettle in higher ground areas ahead of the unprecedented floods in mid-June this year.

Josephine Napwon Cosmos, Minister of Environment and Forestry urged those in the would be affected areas to relocate to safer zones to prevent loss of lives and property.

“The expected flooding in the lowlands and floodplains as a result of climate change, communities living in those areas are advised to relocate to high grounds to avoid loss of lives and properties,” Napwon said in a statement issued during World Environment Day in Juba.

Napwon advised residents living towns to dig drains, clear drainage systems and streams to channel runoff water to the streams and rivers.

“The Ministry of Environment and Forestry urges all the citizens of South Sudan to protect and conserve the environment and embark on sustainable lifestyles because there is no plan B,” she said.

During an alert briefing organized by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation on 18 May in Juba, Deng Majok Chol, a candidate for Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) from the Oxford University School of Geography and Environment urged the government to revisit and re-plan the resettlement of people from the flood-plains.

“Now with South Sudan today, I challenge us to revisit this close proximity to water and perhaps re-plan our cities because some of those places are right inside the floodplain,” Majok 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.

About 21 counties in Jonglei, Lakes, Unity, Upper Nile, and Warrap are expected to experience unprecedented floods from around July.