Unyielding Flood - One year on.

Two consecutive years of floods have destroyed the livelihoods and financial security of over 2 million people who are currently facing severe hunger. Unprecedented heavy rainfall and water that refuses to recede since last year have submerged fields and destroyed crops leaving people without any hope for harvest this year. Hungry people live in overcrowded scraps of dry land where dirty water and sewage run along the homes and shelters of countless displaced people. The livestock have died this year and fishing is impossible, so families now depend on collecting water lilies to grind into a small meal.

Since we visited Fangak county with Action Against Hunger last year, the floods have caused devastation beyond repair. The number of hungry and homeless people keeps increasing with more than 100,000 considered close to famine. Disease is rife. Malaria and respiratory infections run rampant in the communities that have no access to medical attention and are cut-off by the flood water from humanitarian aid. Old Fangak, a small and remote town we visited on our last trip, has this year lost countless villages to the water. But people fight to keep dry the few higher grounds that remain by flushing water out and repairing mud dykes daily. The people are becoming tired of building dykes and battling against the floods. How long can they hold out against the ever rising water?