Hundreds of people from Gumbo bridge residential areas were on Saturday displaced by the River Nile floods.

The whole area was submerged into water due to the rise in the level of the River Nile forcing the residents on the southeast of the river to evacuate.

The area, which is known to be serene with makeshift settlements buzzing with life, turned into a different scene within a short time. The river burst its banks and water spilt over to the settlements causing displacement and igniting humanitarian concern. 

Pictures taken from the residential areas showed houses sunk into the brown straying waters by at least one metre with paths and pavements clearly out sight.

Men and women looked desperate for answers with the few household items they had salvaged from their houses to avoid the destruction of the rammaging foods. 

However, no life was lost in the Saturday flood, according to the area chief Deng Lual.

Both the chief and affected residents have called for urgent support from the government. They appealed for food and shelter.

One of the affected residents identified as Ayii appealed to humanitarian organisations to provide them with immediate emergency assistance.

“The flood came this morning seriously and has destroyed all the houses we are now on the roadside. We need immediate emergency assistance if there are UN agencies that can support us with humanitarian aids,” Ayii appealed.

Most of the residents have relocated on the main roadside as the water level is still high. They expressed frustrations saying they lacked the basics of life and were predisposed to other dangers which could make them contract diseases. 

  “What happened this morning is a natural disaster, we need the government to help people because we are suffering now we don’t know where we shall go. People are stranded in the water there is no food, there is nothing completely but no life was lost,” Deng said.

“People are now parked here at the bridge and everything has been taken by water, there is nothing to eat, no shelter.”

Numbers rise

An estimated 426,000 people have been affected by floods in South Sudan since May 2021, the UN reported. Jonglei and Unity state, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile states are the worst affected.

Floods have exacerbated the vulnerability of communities, with many people displaced in churches and schools and health facilities.