Community Engagement Strategy for Coping with Effects of Flood Disasters: A case of Bor in Jonglei State, South Sudan

Abstract

The occurrence of flooding in the East African region has increased over the past twenty years. This has come with a lot of public health risks and loss of lives and livelihoods among the communities affected. South Sudan is one of the African countries prone to flood disasters. Jonglei State is one of the states that are frequently hit by flooding because of its proximity to river Nile. Bor County in Jonglei State is reported to be experiencing the highest rate of flooding in the country with devastating effects on the livelihoods and public health patterns. The study employed a qualitative study using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs)to explore Community Engagement Strategies for coping with effects of flood disasters in Bor, Jonglei State. The study established that some of the coping strategies against the impact of flood disasters adopted by the communities in Bor were positive as they helped in improving the general wellbeing of the communities. These coping strategies include diversification of livelihoods, use of traditional knowledge to predict weather forecast, getting donations in terms of money and materials from funders such as NGOs and government and use of modern techniques of farming. However, some of the coping strategies were regarded negative and not effective. These include building temporary shelters, constructing dykes from mud instead of using concrete, and displacement of people