Twic East commissioner blames flooding on Hippos

October 14, 2013 (BOR) -Twic East county commissioner Dau Akoy has blamed the current flooding in the area on Hippopotamuses saying the animals are responsible for destroying dykes meant to protect villages from flooding.

“Hippopotamus broke the dykes. We shouldn’t have got floods this time” said Dau Akoy in an interview on Friday.

The 37 km dyke was built by the county with help from development organizations. The dyke was recently renovated by a Moldovan company operating a business in Bor. But it has been unnable protect the villages from flooding.

Three payams of Pageer, Ajoung and Nyuak and Kongoor were the first to be affected by flooding. The flood water is now flowing towards Lith Payam.

“I was in Kongor Payam (Pawel) HQ this morning and the situation is getting worse because water has already occupied the area”, the commissioner said in an email sent to Sudan Tribune on Monday.

‘‘Many people were displaced in different locations. Others are moving to Panyagor and high places for their safety,” the Commissioner added.

According to the commissioner, there is a threat of possible outbreak of water born diseases because the flooding had led to ‘‘pit latrines collapsing’ increasing risks of contaminating the environment.

The Commissioner appealed to the State Government, National Government and Non Governmental Organisation (NGOs) to intervene in addressing the situation and to build dykes for the safety of the community.

(ST)