Pibor Administrative Area. (Photo: Courtesy).

Two lawmakers on Monday raised urgent concerns over flooding in Pochalla County of Greater Pibor Administrative Area and Twic East County of Jonglei State.

David Okwier Akway, the MP representing Pochalla, told the Transitional National Legislative Assembly that the River Akobo has burst its banks, flooding the town and nearby villages.

He described the situation as an emergency and said the floods have displaced communities from Pochalla South up to Boma.

“The river Akobo, on which Pochalla is situated, has burst its banks. So, the river inundated the whole town and all the villages around it,” he said of the flooding that has displaced people after days of heavy rains.

“Therefore, I am raising this as an emergency, as an urgent matter, so that we in Parliament hear about this and I want the people of the South Sudan also to know that we have a crisis, a natural crisis in Pochalla,” he added.

Okwier appealed for permission to engage the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to mobilize urgent support for the affected population.

Meanwhile, Deng Dau Deng, the MP representing Twic East County, said heavy rains have submerged the area for the past three days, affecting at least 50,000 people.

He urged authorities to provide generators to pump out water and protect the dikes around the county headquarters and payams.

“Twic East is underwater for the last three days, on the rainwater. So, 50,000 people in the Twic East County are all submerged by the rains and they have moved to the higher ground of Canal Jonglei and Panyagoor,” he said.

“It is my humble information. As I presented to this House, I also contacted relevant institutions on this particular situation. They requested generators. If these generators can be lifted to pump water out of those 22 kilometers of dikes around the headquarters Panyagoor, and 12.7 kilometers around the payams,” he added.

Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba referred the matter to the relevant committees to follow up with lawmakers from the affected areas.