UN says nearly 900,000 affected by flooding in South Sudan

Juba, Oct 5 (IANS) The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it has scaled up the response to the devastating flooding which has affected more than 890,000 people in South Sudan.

The UN relief agency on Friday said in an update released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, that the floods have so far displaced about 226,000 people in 42 counties and Abyei.

"The latest increase is attributed to newly confirmed numbers of affected people in the Abyei Administrative Area, Western Bahr el Ghazal and Lakes states," OCHA said in its update.

South Sudan faces unprecedented flooding, with forecasts predicting above-average rainfall, river flows from Uganda, and potentially record-breaking floods, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting OCHA.

The agency said physical access to affected communities remains a challenge due to damaged and impassable roads.

The update came a day after South Sudan's Council of Ministers endorsed the declaration of a state of emergency in flood-affected states. President Salva Kiir is expected to issue the declaration soon so as to mobilise resources from international donors to support relief efforts.

In September, the UN allocated US$15 million for an urgent response to the flooding in South Sudan, which began in May and has since damaged homes, crops and infrastructure, disrupting education and health services.

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