Road in Rubkona leading to Bentiu- credit | Peter Gatkuoth/Hope Restoration South Sudan

Authorities in Unity State have expressed fears as Bentiu and Rubkona towns remain the only refugee towns for the flood-affected people.

According to the state deputy governor, persistent rainfall and flash floods have devastated almost the entire state, leaving the local population at risk of starvation.

Tor Tungwar says the state leadership has only safeguarded the two towns from the floods by building a 31-kilometer-dyke.

“It is a severe flood, you know when I talk of severity it means we are now with the help of our partners to only protect the towns that are Bentiu town and Rubkona town,” Tor Tungwar said.

“Rubkona town is where we have the previous IDPs of 2013 civil war and now given the displacement in our counties.

“The population living in the counties have now been displaced to the town. So we have managed only to protect Bentiu town which is the capital of Unity State and Rubkona being part of it.”

Recently, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said tens of thousands of people have been affected by floods in 27 counties across South Sudan.

The agency stated that Jonglei and Unity were the most affected states -accounting for more than half of the about 800,000 people affected by floods in the country.

Upper Nile, Western, and Northern Bahr el Ghazal came second as states badly affected by floodwater.