South Sudan: Floods - a Forgotten Catastrophe

Nyaloka Puok lost everything when the village of Paguir in South Sudan was hit by severe flooding (Image: World Food Programme)

Water still cover large swaths of the city of Bentiu four years after entire communities were plunged into chaos as extreme floods engulfed the area.

Other parts of South Sudan are grappling with returnees from the conflict in neighboring Sudan and the effects of climate change.

The climate crisis is compounding existing challenges in the country, such as poverty and rising food and energy prices, according to International Rescue Committee (IRC), which supports vulnerable communities — especially those who have been displaced by floods in the last four years and are now living in camps for internally displaced people.

Every day, 60-year-old Nyalam Pet Duop dreams of returning home. She and her family fled in 2020 when floodwaters from the nearby Nile River broke through a dike and flooded their village.

"Life is difficult here in the camp. Before the floods displaced us, we cultivated our own food and had cattle," Nyalam told DW.

"But now we survive from food rations provided for by aid organizations," she added. "Besides, there is no clean water around here. Before, we got water from the water center run by the IRC, but the pump is broken."

Nyalam lives in a camp for internally displaced people in Bentiu, the capital of South Sudan's Unity State. The camp is located close to a small airstrip run by the United Nations, the main lifeline bringing in much-needed supplies.

Bentiu has become an island surrounded by floodwaters. All roads in and out are impassable, and only boats and the airstrip serve as lifelines for humanitarian aid to reach 460,000 people already displaced by a mix of both flooding and conflict. Dikes have been constructed to protect communities from being submerged and keep families and markets connected.

Dreams of returning home

Nyalam hopes to return to her village one day, but is worried that she is getting older and won't be able to cultivate her land.

"I might remain in the camp with my family because I'm frail and older. I will not have enough energy to grow crops on our land," Nyalam said.

She now lives with her daughter Nyathai Reng Tong, her son-in-law and their three children. Nyathai told DW that conditions at the camp are unbearable — but they have no other option.

"My mother has to squeeze up in the small room with the children, and I put up with my husband in the remaining room," she said.

"When there is no water, the situation is awful, and we have to go down the river, which also has contaminated water."

About 900,000 people were directly affected as waters swept away homes and livestock, forcing thousands to flee — and inundating large swaths of farmland, worsening an already dire food emergency.

Boreholes and latrines have been submerged, contaminating water sources and risking outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Effects of climate change, conflict 'have devastating consequences'

Although the civil war in South Sudan formally ended with a peace agreement in 2018, violence continues. Climate shocks and economic upheaval have also contributed to record levels of hunger.

"The effects of climate change in South Sudan have led to unusually heavy rains: floodwaters have forced people from their homes, leaving them without sufficient food and water," said Caroline Sekyewa, the country director for the International Rescue Committee, speaking in the South Sudanese capital, Juba.

 "The compounded effects of climate change and conflict have devastating consequences for already vulnerable populations."

How is the war in Sudan affecting South Sudan?

People fleeing conflict in Sudan have told harrowing stories to the United Nations. Around 3,000 people have been killed and 3 million displaced since violence erupted between Sudan Army chief Abdel Fattah Burhan and his former deputy, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, and his paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Many of the displaced have crossed into South Sudan, compounding the problems of a country that has been struggling to support those displaced by floods.

"It is a challenging situation. Before the Sudan crisis happened, 9.4 million people needed humanitarian assistance, yet the humanitarian response plan is less than 40% funded," Sekyewa told DW.

"It is a situation that needs to be better funded. Many returnees are returning to situations where social services, access to food, education, water, hygiene and sanitation and medical care are constrained," she said, adding that host communities, the UN and NGOs like the International Rescue Committee are struggling to meet all those needs.

"We are hoping to ramp up significant response to support for the returnees and those who have been displaced," she said.

Edited by: Keith Walker