The United Nations Refugee Agency has relocated tens of thousands of South Sudanese refugees camped in Ethopia’s Gambella region to save them from floods.

Suleiman Momodu, the agency’s Gambella spokesman, told Anadolu Agency Monday that about 47,038 South Sudanese refugees have been relocated from Nip Nip and Leichtor camps to the Jewi camp near the town of Gambella, a southwestern region in Ethiopia bordering South Sudan.

The South Sudanese refugees at the two refugee sites of Leichtor and Nip Nip faced the risk of being flooded in the current rainy season, raising fears that their health situation would be exacerbated.

The plan was to relocate as many as 50,000 from the two flood-prone camps, Momodu said. “The remaining will be transported to Jewi over the coming few days,” he added.

The escalation of the war has led to an increased influx of refugees into Ethiopia, with 10,000 new arrivals in April and May alone, Momodu said. South Sudan also faces “the worst levels of food insecurity since independence in July 2011," according to the World Food Programme.

The refugee population in Ethiopia reached 689,107 by April 30, according to official data. The South Sudanese refugee population is the largest with 265,469 individuals (38.52%), followed by Somalia with 246,152 people (35.72%). There are also 135,655 Eritreans (19.69%) and 36,478 Sudanese (5.29%).

South Sudan has been affected by violence since December 2013 when fighting broke out in Juba and quickly spread throughout the Upper Nile region, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee to neighboring countries.

Refugees in Gambella. Photo courtesy MSF