PSU

1. Nancy Taban
Professor Christopher Soule
Globalization and Diversity 1400
October 26, 2021
South Sudan the Flood
Faith Kasina spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Refugees in East
Africa, states “As UNHCR we are seeing this as [an] intensive, fine effect of climate change.
South Sudan has been very prone to cyclical droughts and floods, sometimes happening at the
same time in a year, and this is nothing but just the effects of a change in climate.” This was the
worst affect flood South Sudan as experienced in the past 60 years, it is in its third-year straight
year of extreme flooding, thousands have been left displaced and there is now a shortage of aid
as well and United Nation has warned that the situation will worsen due to climate change. In
this paper, will be discussing the environmental risks, including physical and environmental
geography, population and settlement, and geopolitical framework.
Global warming has made extreme weather events more frequent in the country, even
though flooding is a commonplace in South Sudan. The intensity of its current impact has been
described as unusual, villages have been swept away or submerged and thousands have been left
homeless, locals have fled their homes and now are seeking shelter on higher ground as they wait
for the water levels to recede. Aid agencies have been also facing difficulty in trying to access
areas that need assistance as infrastructure has been damaged by the massive flooding. South
Sudan been very prone to cyclical droughts and floods sometimes happening at the same time in
a year and this is nothing but just the effect of a changing climate.

2. Floods have forced approximately 6,000 people to flee the villages of Haat and Pakur
since May. They are now on crowded river islands without food, drinking water, latrines, or
shelter. Before the flood life was a bit stable, but now they are staying in a concentrated
settlement. Which allows for different diseases to come in, and life becomes at risk and the death
cases are rising. Aid workers were running mobile clinics, providing vaccinations, and
distributing basic items like plastic sheeting and blankets, however what they are providing is not
enough to help. “Physical access remained a major challenge for humanitarian organizations to
assess and respond to the needs of flood-affected people.” More than 700,000 people are affected
since May by the floods but also drought and many other crises, and many families have fled to
Juba the capital of South Sudan and many others to Uganda, Bidi Bidi refugee settlement, is now
a home to more than 270,000 refugees. That makes it the largest refugee settlement in the world.
Moreover, there are many violence rivals between communities and that has pushed
thousands of people to leave their homes, while also trying to complicate things for aid works
trying to help flood-battered communities, has erupted since June. “Since achieving
independence from Sudan in 2011, the young nation has been in the throes of a chronic
economic and political crisis and is struggling to recover from the aftermath of a five-year civil
war that left nearly 400,000 people dead.” The nations youngest country civil war started in
2013, and since than fighting among tribes begun for the reason to gain power. Since than many
South Sudanese refugees fled to Uganda and recently that surpassed to one million. The U.N.
reports that an average of 1,800 refugees now arrive in Uganda each day, fleeing conflict and
famine. When President Salva Kiir was sworn into office said, “the official end of the war, and
we can now proclaim a new dawn.” Peace is “never to be shaken ever again,” He also called the

3. elders in the Dinka and Nuer groups to do the same and all those who have fled home during the
civil war, President Kiir is urging them to return home.
South Sudan is now the fastest-growing humanitarian crisis in the world. It’s getting
worse currently about 50,000 people a month are leaving South Sudan and there are about 1.6
million people living outside of the country, and inside the country nearly 2 million people are
displaced. During the rainy season the ground becomes fertile but because of Civil War tens of
thousands of people cannot work the fields and no food– the emergency is being dealt with by
the United Nations and thousands of international organizations.

4. Works Cited
Ajak, M. (2020, February 22). South Sudan's rivals Form Unity Government meant to end war.
PBS. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/south-
sudans-rivals-form-unity-government-meant-to-end-war.
Al Jazeera. (2021, October 22). 'Worst thing in lifetime': South Sudan floods affecting 700,000.
Climate Crisis News | Al Jazeera. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/22/flooding-called-worst-thing-in-my-lifetime-
in-south-sudan.
South Sudan: MSF Teams Treat Hundreds in the wake of widespread flooding. Doctors Without
Borders - USA. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2021, from
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/news-stories/story/south-sudan-msf-
teams-treat-hundreds-wake-widespread-flooding.