A mother uses a makeshift canoe to take her children to safety in Panyinjiar, Unity State in August 2020 | Credit | Courtesy

Recent floods have reportedly displaced over 700,000 people in parts of the country in the last three weeks.

According to officials, this occurred despite the onset of the dry season.

They say the most affected areas are Bentiu, Panyinjiar, and Mayom counties in Unity State.

Others are Duk, Bor and Ayod counties in Jonglei.

The floods are said to have occurred due to an overflow from the River Nile and another river between Unity State and Bahr el Ghazal.

“We said this year 2021 should be featured differently because there are triple issues that include COVID-19, hunger in some areas, [and] a lot of people have been displaced,” said Gatwick Peter Kulang, undersecretary at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

He pledged to work with humanitarian agencies to help the displaced persons.

“So we are saying there must be a new strategy within the humanitarian sector.”

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over one million people affected by flash floods across the country in 2020.