The United Nations humanitarian agency says it has released $19 million to help South Sudan prepare for the severe flooding expected during the rainy season.

In a statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said the funds would help agencies to prepare and protect people in the Bentiu camp for internally displaced people.

“It will protect the surrounding areas in Unity State, which are among the areas most exposed to the deluge,” it said.

The UNOCHA noted that three years of unprecedented flooding have devastated people’s lives.

It said the funding would enable humanitarian organisations to soften the blow of another crisis by preparing and protecting communities in Bentiu in advance as the rainy season began.

It added that the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF) and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) had released the money before the flooding would occur to avert a humanitarian crisis.

UNOCHA said the large swaths of land in these areas were still under the water from the last rainy season.

It said some $4 million of SSHF funds would enable NGOs and UN agencies to reinforce dikes around vital access roads, displaced people’s homes, airstrips and other infrastructure.

It added that the $15 million CERF allocation would support people to protect their homes and key infrastructures, such as latrines and water wells from floodwater and thus aim to avert a public health emergency.

South Sudan is projected to suffer the fourth consecutive year of extreme flooding over the coming months. The UN estimated that heavy flooding affected more than 800,000 people in 2021.

(Xinhua/NAN)