Journal article
Stories from the Frontline: Coping Strategies for Flood Disasters among the Dinka Community of Bor County, South Sudan
This study explored the coping strategies and underlying causes of vulnerability in Makuach, Anyidi, Baidit, Kolnyang and Jalle, in Bor County, an area that is increasingly vulnerable to floods.
Publisher Open Access Library Journal
The frequency of floods in Jonglei State, Bor County, South Sudan has significantly increased recently due to climate change. Bor County has the highest frequency of floods, making this area highly vulnerable.
This article, funded by the International Development Research Centre, is based on a qualitative study in five Payams of Makuach, Anyidi, Baidit, Kolnyang and Jalle. We explored both coping strategies and underlying causes of vulnerability. The findings show that the positive coping strategies used to deal with floods in Bor County included the adoption of good farming methods, support from government and other partners, livelihood diversification and using indigenous knowledge in weather forecasting and preparedness. Relocation was identified as unsustainable because people often returned back to high-risk areas due lack of public participation in decision making.
The main causes of vulnerability were poverty, lack of formal education, people inhabiting high risk areas, lack of formal education and knowledge on flood preparedness and, cultural beliefs affecting people’s ability to cope. This study revealed that deep rooted links to poverty, lack of formal education and low levels of knowledge on flood preparedness were responsible for failure to overcome the effects of floods in vulnerable areas of Bor County.
However, support from government and implementation partners was identified to be effective in enabling the community to reduce the negative effects of floods. This calls for high impact innovative interventions focused on addressing these underlying causes and public participation of all stakeholders in scaling the effective coping strategies to build resilience in the Dinka community and other flood affected areas of South Sudan.
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Citation: Shisanya, C.A. and Obando, J.A. (2024) Stories from the Frontline: Coping Strategies for Flood Disasters among the Dinka Community of Bor County, South Sudan. Open Access Library Journal, 11: e11906, DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1111906.
