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The sprawling Lake Tanganyika is the second deepest freshwater lake in the world and is shared among four countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Burundi, and Zambia. The lake, which used to be a nice scenic setting has now become a source of pain when it is inundating the nearby areas flooding homes and roads, and leaving scores of people homeless.
The sprawling Lake Tanganyika is the second deepest freshwater lake in the world and is shared among four countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Burundi, and Zambia. The lake, which used to be a nice scenic setting has now become a source of pain when it is inundating the nearby areas flooding homes and roads, and leaving scores of people homeless. Due to persistent heavy rain, floods, strong winds, and geological shifts, the lake waters have risen by perhaps over five meters in recent years.
People living in Kalemi, a province in the Democratic Republic of Congo located on the shores of the lake, have been particularly impacted. A number of people have lost their homes or plots of land. Many have been forced to find shelter elsewhere, including in local schools and churches.
Heaps of debris and skeletons of destroyed homes on the lake’s shores are giving a depressing look of the ravages of the flood. Rising water levels have destroyed the province’s port, disrupting local trade. People are up against the authorities, who are only doling out promises bereft of any implementation at the ground level.
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Among those trying to come up with solutions is the former provincial minister of Tanganyika, Kaluma Abedi Ibrahim, who previously oversaw infrastructure, urban planning, land affairs, and habitat. He suggests the reinforcement of the lake’s shores. Inhabitants living closer to the lake say the lake’s water levels rose by 5 to 6 meters and advanced inland by between 200 and 250 meters. Some places in DRC were disproportionately affected due to geographical factors. The people living around the lake fear that the situation could deteriorate further in the next five years should no solution be found.
