A recent report by the United Nations relief wing has indicated that a flash flood destroyed the homes of many people in communities along the Nile River, South Sudan. The recent flood was triggered by heavy rainfalls.
The UN in a tweet indicated that hundreds of houses have been destroyed, including vital infrastructure across some parts of the country, with Khartoum, the Blue Nile & River Nile states as the worst-hit.
So far over 1,200 houses are said to have been destroyed and several hundred people displaced. Therefore, the government is appealing for help to grant relief to displaced residents along the Nile River.
According to a statement by the country’s Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Peter Mayen, the horrible disaster has placed many families in difficult situations. “My current appeal is to all humanitarian agencies to immediately assist those affected through provision of food and medical assistance,” reads his statement in a report.
The UN report also indicated that several hectares of crops might have been lost and over 150 livestock washed away. This would increase the risk of heightened food insecurity in the months ahead.
In addition, the collapse of the Bout Earth Dam in Blue Nile state increases the risk of water scarcity for over 84,000 people living in its vicinity. The Dam had collapsed because it exceeded its full capacity. This latest problem would increase the possibility of a disease outbreak in the country while limiting the government’s chances to adequately curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. It further plunge the country into a recession as its agricultural sector, a key foreign earner, experiences several hits on a row in 2020.
In February 2020, before the pandemic reached South Sudan, swarms of desert locusts found passage into the country. Their presence threatened food security for a country’s population, where over 60 percent already experienced food shortage due to internal clashes.
The locust outbreak contributed to crippling the agricultural and pastoral means of livelihood in South Sudan and several other countries in the East Africa region.
When the pandemic struck the African nation, strict lockdown measures and movement restrictions were implemented to curb the coronavirus. With the lockdown measures in place, the South Sudanese economy further plunged couple with an oil price fall earlier in the year.
