Rising lake waters cause misery for people forced to live in flooded homes in Kenya

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Rising lake waters cause misery for people forced to live in flooded homes in Kenya  The lake has surged more than a kilometre inland in what residents say is the worst flooding they have ever seen. Scientists are pointing to a mix of climate pressures and human activity as the cause.  READ MORE : http://www.africanews.com/2025/11/26/rising-lake-waters-cause-misery-for-people-forced-to-live-in-flooded-homes-in-kenya  Subscribe on our Dailymotion channel and receive all the latest news from the continent.    Africanews is available in English and French.  Website : www.africanews.com  Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/africanews.channel/  Twitter : https://twitter.com/africanews

Transcript

00:00Lake Naivashi in Kenya is quickly swallowing homes around it.

00:05The lake, located in North Valley province, has surged more than a kilometer inland

00:11in what residents say is the worst flooding they have ever seen.

00:15Dixon Ngome has lived and found beside the lake for 16 years.

00:20The water has been rising slowly, at a very low rate.

00:26Even some of the landlords or the tenants were trying to block the flow of the water

00:33by aligning the sacks, soil, so that the water cannot cross.

00:41But it has been coming slowly, at a very low rate.

00:46Scientists are pointing to a mix of climate pressures and human activity as a cause.

00:50They are now pointing to climate change, shifting rainfall patterns,

00:53stone erosion caused by human activity and tectonic plate activity in the region,

00:58is possible explanation.

01:00We also have other factors that are more anthropogenic or human related,

01:06such as, you know, sedimentation, which is a result of use or, you know, cutting of trees,

01:17farming on those areas that are supposed to be water catchment areas,

01:23and also even building or even living in the riparian areas.

01:27Those are some of the factors that would also exacerbate the waters.

01:32But again, metrological factors are a key driver of the water or the lake water level rises,

01:41because during those high tide, when you have those positive phases of the sea surface temperatures,

01:50like the El Nino, the Indian Ocean Dipole, when they are in the positive,

01:54then they cause enhanced rains.

01:56And these enhanced rains cause a lot of water runoff which runs into the rivers,

02:02and then this, of course, leads to the rises in the water levels in the Rift Valley lakes.

02:09Similar patterns have been observed across the Rift Valley lakes,

02:12including Baringo, Nakuru and Turkana.

02:14In some regions, the floods have submerged hotels, shops and sewer systems.

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