Upgrading dikes in Unity State to protect Bentiu town from further damages caused by floods

Bentiu, South Sudan - Over the past four years, South Sudan has been experiencing devastating floods that leads to massive displacement of people. This is a double whammy for the relatively young country that has been suffering the effects of protracted conflict.

The recent flooding has been the worst people has experienced in over 60 years. In the worst hit Unity State, the capital Bentiu, the floods affected 80% of land resulting in the loss of lives and destroyed agriculture and livelihoods.

To respond to this climatic catastrophe, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other partners constructed embankments to prevent the water from taking over the entire town of Bentiu and its neighboring villages. After the dikes were constructed, IOM teams started pumping water out of the residential areas to reclaim the lands and create more space for people displaced from other communities to settle.

Due to increased water levels, several dike breaches put areas that were reclaimed and the Internally Displaced Person’s (IDP) camps at greater risk of continued flooding.

IOM’s Camp Coordination and Camp Management team is working on upgrading and reinforcing the existing dykes to prevent further dyke breaches. Below pictures reveal the upgrading works.

Affected people from these villages fled for safety to the former United Nations Protection of Civilian site now center for IDPs (IDP camps). Five more camps were created to accommodate more than 460,000 people displaced by both conflict and floods.

A section of a dike not yet reinforced. When the reinforcement works are complete, the dike will be seven feet high to prevent flood waters from spilling over when and if water levels rise.

Reclaimed land in Bentiu protected by dikes used for grazing cattle and farming.

IOM’s site planner and engineer supervise reinforcement works on the dikes. Photo: IOM/ Nabie Loyce

Excavators that compact the soil during the reinforcement work on the existing dike.

IOM’s flood response activities in Bentiu are supported by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), United Nations South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF) and Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)