Floods Cause Further Misery in South Sudan Refugee Camp

by in Africa

Heavy rainfall, lasting around 30 hours according to some local reports, has left the refugee camp in Bentiu under 50cm of water. The camp is in a UN camp and houses around 50,000 people displaced by violence in the region.

The flooding has destroyed the temporary shelters that housed the displaced. Conditions are said to be extremely poor inside the camp – some have to sleep in flooded tents or shelters – but residents are reluctant to leave for higher ground outside the safety of the camp perimeter. Latrines and food supplies have also been damaged, causing grave concern among the relief agencies working in the camp. Disease and malnutrition, especially amongst the children, is widespread.

Bentiu refugee camp under water. Image taken from video by CARE International
Bentiu refugee camp under water. Image taken from video by CARE International

The camp is prone to flooding. Photos of Bentiu camp show that residents were wading through flood water last month.

Conditions were already bad enough in the camp. According to a Médecins Sans Frontières report fromn June this year:

Preventable diseases and severe acute malnutrition are causing an alarming number of deaths among the estimated 45,000 people taking refuge at a UN base in Bentiu, South Sudan, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned today, calling for a rapid increase in water supplies, hygiene promotion and latrine construction.

Flooding recently killed 3 children in a refugee camp in Somalia.