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Massive floods have again hit large parts of South Sudan. Record water levels It flows downstream from Lake Victoria along the Nile River. 700 thousand people Affected. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been forced from their homes by massive flooding. A few years ago And it wasn’t until this new threat emerged that they returned.
Now, there are concerns that these displaced communities may never be able to return to their land. While extreme weather events in other parts of the world regularly displace entire communities, this could be the first permanent mass migration caused by climate change.
In the Sud region of South Sudan, the Nile flows through a vast network of small rivers, wetlands, and floodplains. This is one of the largest wetlands in the world. Flood levels vary greatly from year to year, mainly due to fluctuations in the water level of Lake Victoria and controlled releases from dams in Uganda, which drain the lake into the Nile.
The unique geography of Sud means that floods there are very different from those elsewhere. Most floodwaters cannot drain freely into the main channel of the White Nile, and the water struggles to infiltrate the clay and silt soils of the floodplain. This means that floods last a long time and often recede as the water evaporates.
People can’t cope anymore
Communities living in Sudd, including the Dinka, Nuer, Anyuak, and Shilluk, are well adapted to the normal flow and flow of seasonal floods. Herders move their livestock to higher ground when the floods rise, Earthen wall Protect homes and infrastructure made of compressed mud. During flood season, fishing sustains the community. When floods subside, crops such as peanuts, okra, pumpkins, millet, and other vegetables are planted.
But record water levels and the prolonged duration of recent flooding have stretched these indigenous coping mechanisms. Domestic conflict Their ability to cope has been further reduced. Local elders who spoke to colleagues from the medical humanitarian charity Médecins Sans Frontières said that fear of conflict and violence had prevented them from moving to the safer areas they found during the great floods of the early 1960s.
approximately 2.6 million people Between 2020 and 2022 alone, 1 million people were displaced in South Sudan, as a result of conflict and violence (1 million) and floods (1.5 million). In fact, the two are interconnected. Herders displaced by floods Get into conflict There are farmers who live on the land.
Even stagnant flood water ~ leads to Increase in waterborne infectious diseases such as cholera Hepatitis ESnake bites and vector-borne diseases, etc. malaria. These diseases become more dangerous when people become malnourished. Malnutrition is already a big problem, especially About 800 thousand people People who fled to South Sudan when a separate conflict began in Sudan in April 2023.
