Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, an agency of the United Nations, UN, says over 241,000 people in South Sudan have been displaced as a result of yearly flood disaster in the country that have affected millions of the Africa residents for more than a decade.

OCHA in a report on Thursday said this year flooding disaster took over homes, markets and cut off roads, making it impassable to transport aid to the affected victims.

“Homes and markets are in floodwaters, forcing people to seek shelter on higher ground.

Community members in flood-hit areas are coming together to scoop out water and construct dykes in response to rising water levels”, OCHA stated in a tweet.

AFP had on March 2023 reported that for the last four years, unprecedented flooding linked to climate change has turned almost two-thirds of South Sudan into swampland. The environmental catastrophe is most apparent in the city of Bentiu, in the northern part of the country.

Local media stated, the persistent flooding in Unity State, South Sudan, has led to severe deforestation, with trees wilting after prolonged exposure to water, becoming firewood rather than thriving ecosystems.

Reuters in August 28, 2024 published a photograph of a survivor who climbed a wall with assistance following devastating floods in South Tokar, Red Sea State, Sudan.

Close watchers have said; floods and highway attacks across South Sudan in September 2024 worsened humanitarian access as 15 major supply routes were rendered impassable, impacting the delivery of essential humanitarian supplies to some 500,000 people.

There are concerns that there maybe  looming health crisis in the Unity state, South Sudan, as flood victims remain trapped after two weeks of heavy flooding and with rising water levels, there maybe an increased risk of waterborne diseases, exacerbating the plight of affected communities who struggle for access to clean water and medical care.

AFP reporting the recent observations from OCHA, stated that: “Some 893,000 people have been affected by flooding in South Sudan and more than 241,000 displaced, the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA said Thursday in a grim update on the disaster.

Aid agencies have warned that the world’s youngest country, highly vulnerable to climate change, is facing its worst flooding in decades.

“Flooding continues to affect and displace people across the country,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

“Heavy rainfall and floods have rendered 15 main supply routes impassable, restricting physical access.”

OCHA said about 893,000 people were flood-affected in 42 of South Sudan’s 78 counties as well as the Abyei Administrative Area, a disputed zone claimed by both Juba and Khartoum.

It said Unity and Warrap states in the north of the country accounted for more than 40 per cent of the affected population.

More than 241,000 people were displaced in 16 counties and the Abyei area “seeking shelter on higher ground”, OCHA added.

Since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, the world’s youngest nation has remained plagued by chronic instability, violence and economic stagnation as well as climate disasters such as drought and floods.

The World Bank said in an October 1 update that the latest floods were “worsening an already critical humanitarian situation marked by severe food insecurity, economic decline, continued conflict, disease outbreaks, and the repercussions of the Sudan conflict”.

The conflict in Sudan has seen more than 797,000 refugees pour into South Sudan as of September, the World Bank said, almost 80 per cent of them South Sudanese returnees.

The country also faces another period of political paralysis after the presidency announced yet another extension to a transitional period agreed in a 2018 peace deal, delaying elections due to take place in December by another two years.

Key provisions of the transitional agreement remain unfulfilled — including the creation of a constitution and the unification of the rival forces of President Salva Kiir and his foe Reik Machar.

The delays have exasperated South Sudan’s partners and the United Nations.

UN mission chief Nicholas Haysom said on Wednesday there was deep frustration and fatigue among the South Sudanese people.

The international community needed “tangible evidence that this country’s leaders are committed to a democratic future”.

South Sudan boasts plentiful oil resources, but the vital source of revenue was decimated in February when an export pipeline was damaged in war-torn Sudan”.

Meanwhile, National Catholic Reporter said Nyawal is among 750,000 South Sudanese threatened by the floods and at risk of starvation among a population of more than 12.7 million people, of whom about 61% identify as Christian.

It would be recalled that in 2020. South Sudan declared a 3-month state of emergency as the country was declared a disaster zone, due to floods that have affected over 500,000 people, killed many, and destroyed 100,000 homes.

Also, in 2021, large parts of South Sudan were flooded over a year and half.  It was reportedly triggered by a climate change causing more refugee crisis.