The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UNHCR warns of dire impact from floods in South Sudan as new wet season looms
South Sudan battles record floods amid changing climate.
Prolonged flooding and displacement are expected to worsen when the wet season begins in May, the refugee agency warned on Tuesday. Urgent action is needed to protect already vulnerable populations from its worst impacts.
Returning from a visit to South Sudan’s most affected areas, Special Advisor on Climate Action to UNHCR, Andrew Harper, said that parts of the country were “still affected by high water levels from last year's flooding, and it seems unlikely that the waters will recede completely before the onset of the next rainy season.” The rains forecast for 2022 are expected to be even worse than last year, he emphasized. “These two circumstances combined, set the tone for what appears will be a disastrous rainy season.”
In all, 33 of South Sudan’s 79 counties have been badly affected by flooding. Thousands of people have been displaced, while others are marooned in dyke-ringed compounds, holding back floodwaters with mud, sticks and plastic sheeting. Residents need water pumps and heavy equipment to build sturdy flood barriers and keep their livestock above water, UNHCR insisted.
To put the situation into perspective, Mr Harper said, “you've got elderly women, vulnerable populations who are basically grabbing mud and trying to build up the berms around their villages. This is during the dry season. The wet season hasn't even started yet. So, we have to expect that many of these very defenses will be overcome by the upcoming rainy season.”
The fragile country has been struggling to overcome political and economic challenges since it gained independence in 2011. The worst flooding on record was in 2021, killing an estimated 800,000 livestock, submerging crops and impacting more than 835,000 people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). South Sudan counts the largest refugee population in Africa with 2.5 million people displaced. Those multiple factors of instability fuel violence, warned
Mr Harper: “As more and more people get displaced from their safe zones and they have to encroach into an area where they're not the traditional population, then, there will be conflict. We're seeing that time and time again. So, you have villages which are holding out, doing whatever they can in order not to be forced to move to where they may face violence.”
Amid a backdrop of climate events that are worsening globally, UNHCR warned that floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and intense, and that catastrophic food insecurity is looming. “As you have crops wiped out, as you have livestock dying, season after season, you have this compounded series of disasters and a lack of international response in terms of providing support for food security, then you will be facing the situation of a famine in that region. I don't think it's ‘if’, it's going to be ‘when’.”
Ends
STORY: South Sudan Floods Dire Impact - UNHCR
TRT: 2 mins 16s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 29 March 2022
VIRTUAL PRESS BRIEFING
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva.
- Cutaway: Wide shot, Press room, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Andrew Harper, Special Advisor on Climate Action to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: “Parts of South Sudan, such as Fangak in Jonglei (State) and Bentiu in Unity State, are still affected by high water levels from last year's flooding, and it seems unlikely that the waters will recede completely before the onset of the next rainy season. And IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development), which is the Regional Institute, forecasts that the rains in 2022 will be even more than last year. These two circumstances combined, set the tone for what appears will be a disastrous rainy season.”
- Cutaway: wide shot of press room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Andrew Harper, Special Advisor on Climate Action to the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees: “Just to put it in perspective, you've got elderly women, you've got vulnerable populations who are basically grabbing mud and trying to build up the berms around their villages. And this is during summer. This is during the dry season. The wet season hasn't even started yet. So, we have to expect that many of these very defenses will be overcome by the upcoming rainy season.”
- Cutaway: medium shot, podium
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Andrew Harper, Special Advisor on Climate Action to the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees: “As more and more people get displaced from their safe zones and they have to encroach into an area where they're not the traditional population, then, there will be conflict. We're seeing that time and time again. So, you have people, you have villages which are holding out, doing whatever they can in order not to be forced to move to where they may face violence.”
- Cutaway: Medium shot journalists listening in the Press room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Andrew Harper, Special Advisor on Climate Action to the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees: “The other issue that will be coming to the fore is the food insecurity. As you have crops wiped out, as you have livestock dying, season after season, you have this compounded series of disasters and a lack of international response in terms of providing support for food security, then you will be facing the situation of a famine in that region. I don't think it's “if”, it's going to be “when”.”
- Various: Medium shot journalists taking notes and listening
B-Roll from UNHCR, shot between March 7-10, 2022 in South Sudan available on: https://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/unifeed/asset/2723/2723593/
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Institutionalised forced labour by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea constitutes grave violations of human rights – UN report
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Time is running out for starving civilians in Sudan, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday, while talks involving the country’s warring parties continue in Geneva this week.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC faces a severe humanitarian crisis with 25M in need and rising conflict-related issues.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
A gimmer of good news emerged from Gaza on Tuesday as patients returned to at a newly reopened UN health centre in Khan Younis, six months after it was severely damaged and forced to close by heavy fighting, the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN condemns attacks on Kyiv hospitals, calls for immediate action to protect civilians.
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
In Gaza, soaring temperatures, hunger and unsanitary conditions present an ever more deadly threat to a population under constant attack, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WMO , IFRC
Hurricane Beryl smashes into Caribbean, turns sights on Mexico As Hurricane Beryl’s destructive path shifted to Mexico on Friday after roiling the Caribbean, UN agencies and partners said that the emergency response was underway, before warning that a very long and damaging hurricane season looks increasingly likely.
1
1
2
Edited News | IOM , mcc , UNHCR
Refugees and migrants continue to face extreme forms of violence, exploitation and death on sea and on land across Africa as they attempt to leave the continent, UN agencies said on Friday, in an appeal to border authorities to do more to protect them.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk at the 56th Human Rigths Council, made the following update on the situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
New evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army for areas in southern Gaza are expected to impact 250,000 people, including eastern Khan Younis and Rafah, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: People are desperate, they need everything, says UN aid agency Panic and desperation now grip ordinary Gazans struggling to survive, UN humanitarians said on Friday, amid fuel shortages of fuel and dwindling supplies that have prevented aid teams from doing their job.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
UN aid teams and partner organizations remain deeply committed to delivering lifesaving supplies into Gaza, despite the increasing dangers of working there, the Organization’s top aid official said on Wednesday.