A health facility and airstrip in Ganyliel, the headquarters of Panyijiar County, were inundated by heavy rainfall Monday night, forcing the evacuation of two dozen patients, according to local officials.
Peter Yoak, the county health director, told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that the primary health care center (PHCC) remained flooded. He confirmed that the facility was completely underwater and that patients were suffering as a result.
“The health facility is under water since Monday up to now and the patients are suffering from the water, which is still inside the facility,” Yoak said.
Yoak stated that 24 patients—13 men and 11 women—had to be relocated to higher ground within the town. He said the entire compound was flooded, making it impossible to move them elsewhere.
“There is no way to take them because the compound is full of water,” he said.
Yoak appealed to state and national governments for urgent assistance, specifically requesting generators to power pumps to remove the water from the facility and airstrip compound.
A resident of Ganyliel Payam, Gideon Makuach, said the flooding began Monday night and was caused solely by the torrential rain, not by overflow from rivers. He echoed the call for generators to help control the water.
“The compound has been underwater since Monday at 8:20 p.m. It’s only water from rain; there is no flood that has contributed,” Makuach said. “For now, we need generators to help us control the waters that are inside the compound.”
Panyijiar County in Unity State is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, particularly flooding, due to its weak infrastructure.