Unyielding Floods

In Unyielding Floods, Peter photographs villagers trying to protect their homes and livelihoods against the catastrophic floods in South Sudan which are still ongoing. Over five years, Peter returned to these historic floods that have refused to recede, capturing the struggles of the villagers, their resilience and their heartache.

Peter first captured the floods in 2020, by 2021 nearly 1.2 million were affected by them. The rise of flooding emerged in South Sudan during a time of extreme tension as the country struggled to heal from a recent civil war that left close to 400,000 individuals dead. When the floods emerged in 2019, villagers became trapped by new water borders, unable to flee outbreaks of civil unrest. Other villages were destroyed by the floods, creating massive displacement. Refugee camps became cut off by water. The economic damage of this climate crisis is estimated to be £542 million. Crops failed as livestock perished, increasing widespread famine, but the hearts of the people remained resilient as they transformed their riverside villages into proficient canoe-commuting communities. Today, there is sadly no sign of the water receding. Towns resemble an everlasting sea with the roofs of people’s homes protruding from the murky waters. The images that Peter has captured are a heartbreaking reality for the people in South Sudan, a heartbreaking reality that deserves public awareness.

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