Internally displaced people use a boat in flooded Tong village in Bentiu, South Sudan on February 7, 2023. PHOTO | SIMON MAINA | AFP

The National Council of Ministers meeting on Friday passed a 78-million-US-dollar budget for emergency floods preparedness and response across the country.

The emergency budget was passed after the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Albino Atak presented a memo to the cabinet amid looming flooding forecasted to submerge much of the country and leave 3 million in dire need.

Minister Atak said the objective of the plan is to equip the country’s ability to prepare and respond to the anticipated humanitarian catastrophe.

Deputy Information Minister Jacob Maiju Korok said the amount approved is the “local contribution” of the South Sudan government.

Addressing reporters, Korok added that the plan outlines mapping of grounds and safe locations where communities could be relocated to during floods.

“The objective of the plan is also to ensure that the government plays a crucial role in preventing loss of lives and reducing impact on livelihood and Infrastructure,” he said.

“The plan was unanimously passed by the council of ministers. We have what we call local contribution of the government, it is 78 million USD.”

Among other preparedness plans are the construction and rehabilitation of dyes and community engagement to reduce intercommunal conflicts during the anticipated floods.

The IGAD climate center predicted that the current rainy season in Great Lakes region will be trigger high volumes of water in rivers and lakes in Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya and DRC – all of which flow into Lake Victoria and ends up in South Sudan.

The release of the water from Lake Victoria in June 2024, is anticipated to affect Unity, Upper Nile, Jonglei, parts of Lakes and Warrap states.

An independent data provider has warned that more than 3 million people will be impacted by the major flood event in South Sudan in the second half of 2024, many of whom will need humanitarian assistance.

IMPACT Initiatives said by September and October, when floodwaters have peaked, relief actors will grapple with a scenario in which more than three million people are affected and 2.4 million need aid.

The Geneva-based group said preliminary signs of flood are already visible, with breached dykes in Unity and Western Bahr El Gazal states, serving as early indicators of what could unfold in the coming months.

It further underscored that the “disastrous and longstanding humanitarian impacts” of the consecutive years of severe flooding between 2019 and 2022, signal what the projected situation could look like.