Climate change has introduced extreme weather patterns, which have led to frequent and intense flooding in the most vulnerable locations all over the world. One of these places is the Republic of South Sudan, which has been facing hurdles in mitigating river flooding. This river flooding is usually caused by heavy rainfall in the majority of its regions. South Sudan is a vulnerable state to various natural hazards such as floods, droughts, and other climate change variables that have a negative impact on the agricultural sector as well.
Flood Situation in the Past in South Sudan
For many decades, South Sudan’s floods have been a recurring disaster theme, impacting people, families, and communities during each rainy season. More than 908,000 people experienced homelessness (PEH) as a result of the severe flooding that ravaged numerous counties and villages across the country in July 2019, prompting the government to proclaim a state of emergency. More than 620,000 people were in urgent need of vital life-saving supplies and humanitarian aid, according to the UN.
Moreover, in September 2020, the overflow of the river by heavy rainfall led to the flooding of communities living near the White Nile. More than 33,000 people were displaced and had no chance of returning home. The ecology of Sudan includes flooding. Significant differences in the flooded areas from year to year are caused by seasonal variations in rainfall, especially during the rainy season from May to October, and due to the fluctuations in the water level of Lake Victoria upstream.
A reservoir for the White Nile, the Sudd. fills with water during the rainy season and partially empties into the river during the dry season. Long-term flooding is caused by the region’s flat terrain and impervious soil, which impede water drainage.
Causes of the Increased Floods in the Region
Record water levels in Lake Victoria are flowing downstream through the Nile, causing massive floods to envelop most of South Sudan once more. Seasonal variations are common in the central marshes of South Sudan. However, more widespread flooding has resulted from above-normal rainfall and rising lake levels in recent years.
Implementing standard flood forecasting techniques has also been challenging due to the ongoing violence, intricate flow patterns in low-lying areas, and a lack of hydrological data. The flood analysts have asserted that the recent floods are the worst ones in Sudan’s history.
The Impact of the 2024 Floods on South Sudan
The South Sudanese government in May 2024 primarily alerted the community about the greater risk in the coming months. The water levels increased at the start of July, surpassing the water levels in 2021 and 2022. Approximately 327,000 people were displaced and an estimated 1.3 million people were impacted by flooding in October, according to the most recent field assessments conducted by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations also reported that flooding had affected 75,000 hectares of crops by the end of October 2024, resulting in a 75,000-ton crop loss. Before this new threat materialized, hundreds of thousands of people had already been displaced from their homes by massive floods a few years prior.
According to current worries, these displaced communities may never be able to return to their ancestral lands. This may be the first permanent mass displacement brought on by climate change, even though weather extremes frequently uproot entire towns in other regions of the world. According to the UN report, approximately 379,000 people have been displaced and a surge in malaria is predicted in South Sudan, which would overwhelm the health system and exacerbate the situation of the flood-hit areas.
Apart from displacements, the floodwater is stagnant and can lead to a rise in water-borne infections such as hepatitis E and cholera, along with vector-borne diseases like malaria and snakebites. Such diseases eventually become more dangerous when people are malnourished. Malnourishment is a big deal, particularly for the people who fled to South Sudan from Sudan due to the apparent conflict emerging in April 2023. The World Bank also mentioned that the recent flood situation was “worsening an already critical humanitarian situation marked by severe food insecurity, economic decline, continued conflict, disease outbreaks, and the repercussions of the Sudan conflict.”
Recommendations for the Future
The country requires meaningful and practicable flood risk reduction strategies to be implemented. First, a flood mitigation plan must be created to unite national, international, and local entities under a single national policy. This would involve the formation of alliances between community-based, faith-based, profit-based, and non-profit organizations.
Secondly, through non-structural emergency management education and training initiatives, local DRR can be developed. As part of this, educational institutions will be strengthened to create a curriculum that teaches flood risk reduction, natural disaster awareness, disaster planning, preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery.
Thirdly, as part of non-structural flood mitigation strategies, it is apparent to develop and improve locally accessible and regionally supported EWS capabilities and link them to emergency evacuation training in the area. Lastly, obtaining funds from global sources such as the World Bank to invest in the construction of vital infrastructure around the country, such as roads, building codes, bridges, levees, flood barriers, hospitals, urban planning, land use, and dams, in order to mitigate future dangers.
Conclusion
The 2024 floods in South Sudan highlight the country’s significant susceptibility to climate-related events, compounded by years of inadequate investment in infrastructure and disaster preparedness. Despite the recurring nature of these floods, efforts to build resilient systems to safeguard communities and economies have been insufficient.
International aid has been essential in addressing immediate needs but falls short of a sustainable, long-term solution. The government must prioritize the implementation of flood management strategies and collaborate with global partners to fund climate adaptation infrastructure, early warning mechanisms, and sustainable planning initiatives.
These repeated disasters also expose issues of political will and accountability, leaving communities vulnerable to natural threats. Without a decisive shift toward proactive governance and long-term resilience-building, South Sudan risks being caught in a continuous cycle of crisis and dependency, with each disaster further weakening the country’s socio-economic stability.
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Areej Ajmal is a lecturer at the University of Lahore. She possesses a robust academic background in political science from Punjab University, Lahore. Her expertise encompasses democratization, global and gender politics.