Tonj State official appeals for assistance for flood victims

November 17, 2019 (TONJ) – The commissioner of Man-lor County in South Sudan’s Tonj State has appealed for assistance for people displaced by floods in the area.

Cases of deaths from water borne disease, he said, have also been reported among the flood-affected population.

Over 3,000 households have been displaced, the official said, amidst appeals for the state government and aid agencies to urgently help provide food, water and shelter.

According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), more than 908,000 people have been affected by heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding, of whom 620,000 people need immediate humanitarian aid.

Last month, President Salva Kiir declared a state of emergency in Greater Bahr al-Ghazal, Upper Nile and Equatoria regions, and it made urgent appeals for humanitarian intervention.

$61 million is needed to save lives and respond to floods in South Sudan, the UN said last week.

(ST)