JUBA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 30,000 civilians displaced by heavy flooding in Ayod County of Jonglei state in South Sudan are in dire need of assistance as they are surviving on grass after crops were washed away by water, a UN relief official said Thursday.
Arafat Jamal, acting humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan who visited Ayod Wednesday, said persisting rains have washed away crops forcing women and children to eat grass to stay alive.
"One of the most moving and shocking things for me is when someone threw pieces of grass on the ground and said this is what we have to eat," Jamal told journalists after his return to Juba, capital of South Sudan.
He disclosed that some homes in both Unity and Jonglei states have been submerged in addition to crops being destroyed.
"They said we have this (grass) and when we eat it we get upset and fall sick but this is all we have to eat, and to me when I see these people suffering I see human dignity that is affected," said Jamal, who blamed climate change for severe floods in South Sudan.
"Floods are nothing new but what is different is that we are truly in the age of climate change and climate catastrophe and what we are seeing now is that floods are coming in regularly and at a higher intensity than before," he said.
Jamal disclosed that these displaced people also lack clean drinking water. Enditem
