Widespread flooding has affected more than 3,000 households in Jonglei’s Akobo County, displacing families and destroying livelihoods as residents call for urgent humanitarian aid.
Rising waters have submerged homes and farmland, forcing many to flee to higher ground. Nyayany Mai, a resident of Akobo, said her home is surrounded by water and two of her houses have already flooded.
“I have nowhere else to go, so I continue to live here with my children,” Mai said. She built a dyke to block the water but fears it could be overwhelmed. “The flood is threatening my entire family.”
She called for plastic sheets, mosquito nets and canoes to facilitate an evacuation.
The crisis has also brought dangerous wildlife into communities. Mai said she used smoke from neem tree leaves to drive away two venomous snakes from her compound.
According to Nhial Lew, coordinator for the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Akobo County, the floods have displaced 1,542 households in Akobo East and 1,500 in Akobo West.
“The flooding continues to displace families in Old Akobo, parts of Bilkey Payam, Nyandit Payam, Dengjock Payam and Gakdong Payam,” Lew said.
Law added that a joint inter-agency assessment is scheduled for next Tuesday to determine the exact number of displaced as water levels continue to rise.
Other displaced residents described severe food shortages and a lack of basic supplies.
Duoth, a resident displaced from Bore Boma, said his family is suffering from a lack of food. “We need support for food, fishing equipment, plastic sheets and buckets,” he said.
William Deng Gol, an elderly blind man, described nights tormented by mosquitoes and the fear of floodwaters breaching his home. “I can’t sleep at night. I only rest in the afternoon,” he said.
Koang Reath, a youth leader at a cattle camp in Akobo, highlighted the growing danger from snakes and appealed to the government and aid groups for anti-venom. He said flood victims also need non-food items like plastic sheets, buckets, soap, canoes and medical supplies.
Authorities are urging families to evacuate to higher ground while humanitarian agencies mobilize a response to the escalating crisis.