Approximately 200 families have been impacted by flooding at the N’Gan village IDP camp following heavy rainfall. N’Gan village is located in Nawng Chain village-tract of Waingmaw Township in Kachin State.
A male IDP originally from Nawng Hee village but now sheltering at the IDP camp in N’Gan village, said that heavy rain hit N’Gan village around 7 a.m. on 24 June and quickly flooded the IDP camp. He said that if there is heavy rain for three hours, the area starts to become flooded.
“The plastic roof did not keep the rain water out of our bamboo hut. The plastic roof leaked because it is not made with good quality materials. Our cooking area was also flooded. We need assistance, especially better quality shelter building materials,” the IDP told KNG.
He said that the IDP camp at N’Gan village frequently suffered from flooding because the camp is located in a low-lying area, but that this is worst flooding they have experienced. He said that the IDPs need food rations and drinking water in addition to shelter materials.
“If the rain continues to fall like this, many IDPs will suffer from malaria and flu. In the past, after flooding the number of mosquitos increased and people got sick. We need medicine, drinking water, food rations and electricity,” he told KNG.
The people currently living in the IDP camp at N’Gan village were displaced from their homes in Nawng Hee village on 21 May. They initially stayed in local people’s homes, but most of them had moved to the current IDP camp site on 21 June.
In the second week of June, many IDPs suffered from diarrhea because they were drinking unclean river water. At the moment, the IDPs are using water from a well located near the IDP camp. The Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) also provides these IDPs with drinking water every two weeks.
There are about 200 families now staying in the IDP camp at N’Gan village. Most have their own huts, but there are about 20 families living together in a single large shelter.
Since 7 March, the Kachin Independence Army and allied forces have had multiple clashes in Waingmaw Township. Due to the clashes, people from nearly 30 villages, including Nawng Hee and Sang Kar villages, have been displaced.
