A mother and her children wade through flood waters in Bor town, Jonglei State, in August 2020 | Credit | Facebook PHOTO//Jacob Aluong

Advanced plans are underway to help 26,000 people in Bor affected by flooding along the Nile River, the United Nations has said.

Aid agencies say the total number of people displaced by flooding in the Jonglei state capital is now around 53,000.

The UN Mission in South Sudan is said to have sent engineering troops to help with direct the water away from the population.

Torrential rains and flash floods have continued to displace thousands of people and destroy several homes across South Sudan.

Many families have been affected and dozens of villages have been destroyed by floods in mostly; Jonglei, Pibor, Upper Nile, Western and Eastern Equatoria states.

The rains have intensified over the past weeks, causing flooding, destruction of infrastructure, houses and livelihoods, and leading to displacement in multiple locations.

Residents of Bor town and well-wishers continue to wade off floods by building untenable dikes.

Families can be seen dragging their few belongings on top of flooded waters while others crammed on small dry spaces within the swamps.

The governor, Denay Chagor has appealed for basic items such as food, sleeping materials, and mosquito nets.

In his daily Press Briefing in New York on Thursday, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said the World Food Programme has sent supplies to repair the damaged dikes.

Stéphane Dujarric added that the IOM and the UNHCR have also donated more than 10,000 sandbags to keep the raging water from causing more damages.

“The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – together with the Government, donors, and our partners – visited Bor and Pibor, to see the affected areas and to meet with authorities and people impacted by floods,” he said.

According to the UN headquarters, food, health, water and sanitation hygiene, livelihoods support and protection, among others, have been identified as the main needs.