Leer, South Sudan - Recent

Residents in Leer in the north of South Sudan are grappling with water threats from unprecedented floods as roads are severed and daily necessities are cut short due to the disaster.

Flooding has cut off roads connecting parts of South Sudan to the capital Juba. Much of Leer County is submerged with only a few areas protected by dykes, while roads from all directions are cut off.

The local government is also warning of more rains in the coming months which could further exacerbate the issue, while a local commissioner also noted the scale of the problem with widespread flooding affecting tens of thousands of people from neighboring Sudan.

Supplies like food, medicines and clean water come to Leer by air. However, the airstrip is small and only operational on days when there is no rain.

Many of these areas have been cut off from the rest of the country since 2019 due to serious flooding, making it difficult for supplies to get through.

Authorities are asking aid agencies to provide sandbags to fortify dykes and block rising water levels as they hope to minimize the impact of the flooding as much as possible.

Shotlist:
Leer, South Sudan - Recent:
1. Aerial shot of flood;
2. People walking in flood water;
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Taker Riak, Leer County commissioner:
"Those who are affected by the [flood] water [in the] last two years are 77,200 individuals. We relocated them to the highland and even those who are coming from Khartoum, when they reach here, then we are used to receiving them because they are our people. You cannot even deny your people who are coming from another country. We are used to receive them and they are staying together.";
4. Helicopter landing;
5. Various of peacekeepers unloading supplies from helicopter;
6. Flooded houses;
7. People in flood water;
8. Flood waters;
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Omane Agyekum, commanding officer, Ghana Battalion, United Nations Peacekeepers in Leer:
"Because of the rains, most of the places are [in] more trouble. The roads are very very bad and it has restricted our movements and it has restricted our patrols, like you could witness when we coming from the airfield which is a main supply route. The road to the airfield is so bad that sometimes moving to the airfield for resupplies and reinforcements is a challenge.";
10. People in flood water;
11. Various of flooded houses.

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