By Mara Online News team
For people living around the shores of Lake Victoria on the Tanzanian side, the year 2020 will never be forgotten. The twin disasters — floods and the COVID-19 pandemic, that hit them hard disrupted social life and halted several economic activities including fishing, farming and the hotel industry. These activities used to be a major source of livelihood.
Mara, Mwanza, Simiyu and Kagera
areas were adversely affected by floods that forced thousands of people to flee
their homes and seek shelter elsewhere. Some ran to relatives, friends, good
Samaritans while others opted to rent houses in safer places. Domestic animals
were not spared as ravaging floods swept them away, killing several of them.
Nolasco Mgimba, a resident of
Bweri in Mara region says the heavy floods and COVID -19 pandemic turned their
area into, “hell on earth”.
“When it started raining,
we thought it was a normal rainy season, so we were not scared. We did not take
any precautions,” says Mgimba adding that, “but as time went by, the rain
surpassed its season and entered into February which is usually a dry month.”
This, he says, forced the water
levels in Lake Victoria to rise subsequently submerging their houses.
“Our houses were submerged. We ran away for our lives. But since many families
in this area are poor, some residents decided to stay,” says Mgimba.
Michael Cassian, a resident of
Mwigobero in Musoma Municipal Council, says his house that was situated near
the Lake Victoria shoreline was swept away by floods. His family had to seek
shelter at a relative’s house in Rwamlimi. He now says that the future looks
bleak for him and his family since the government has barred them from
resettling on the lake’s buffer zone.
Economic activities
take a dive due to floods
Gamba Machota, Marwa Chacha and
Nyayala Christopher, all residents of Bunda in Butiama, Mara Region, are now
living a hard life as the long journey to economic recovery from the effects of
the floods continues. They say that their infrastructure was badly damaged by
floods – forcing them to suspend business activities.
Majura Maingu, the Managing
Director of Victoria Farming and Fishing Organization (VIFAFIO), says that this
year’s fishing and farming activities have been adversely affected by floods.
“It was a painful experience. The heavy downpour killed the farmers’ hope. The
floods ravaged their gardens and killed some of their animals,’’ Maingu says
adding that some farmers cannot afford the cost of food today.
Fishing boats grounded
In the aftermath of the floods,
it became evidently clear that fishermen would bear the brunt of the
destruction. Often, fish reproduce in the edge and perforation of lakes and
rivers. But when rainfall increased, the water levels in Lake Victoria went up;
forcing fish to migrate to other comfortable areas. This has resulted into a
deep decline of fish catch in the area.
The fishing community says that
there is an acute shortage of fish due to rising water levels. They observe
that their theory that if water level increases, fish would be plenty has been
proven wrong. The surge in water levels has not only affected fishing but
navigation as well.
The crews operating vessels in
the lake are grappling with seaweed, a growth hindering smooth embarking and
disembarking of passengers and loading and unloading of cargo. “The fishermen
have resolved to ground their vessels to mitigate high operational costs, as
they cannot continue incurring losses,’’ says Maingu.
Assisting Farmers in
minimising losses
According to Maingu, VIFAFIO is
committed to addressing issues concerning farming and fishing while
guaranteeing the protection of water sources. ‘’We advise farmers not to
conduct any farming activities within the distance of 60 metres from a water
source. The problem however, is that when the level of water rises, the
distance also extends.
A farmer who may have planted
his crops before the rise, gets disappointed during flooding season as he will
find the gardens within the prohibited 60 metres. It is a huge challenge,’’ he
explains.
He also says the association
has advised the authorities to erect beacons for easy identification of the
boundaries with river banks and lake shoreline, to avert disasters and
encroachment.
VIFAFIO also wants authorities
to put in place demarcation showing the longest distance reached by water, to
help people steer clear of the danger zone adding that without demarcation,
people will build houses, plant and carry out other activities- oblivious of
looming danger.
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| A section of houses and business premises submerged in water in the aftermath of Lake Victoria flooding in Mara Region |
Sharp rise of water above sea level
According to Lake Victoria Basin Water Board ( LVBWB)
in Mara Region which is a section in the Ministry of Water in Tanzania, the
rising water levels of Lake Victoria is as a result of heavy rains.
Engineer Mwita Mataro, an
official from Mara –Mori Catchment which is under LVBWB says that this year’s
rainfall has had a damaging effect on economic activities and infrastructure,
including houses, hotels, crops and bridges.
Mataro says water level in the
lake rose to 1,134.85 metres above sea level, adding that the highest level
recorded in the history of the lake was 1,134.27 Metres above sea level in
1965, some 55 years ago.
Mataro also reminded people
that the Lake Victoria flooding was a result of a recurring hydrological
phenomenon, adding that the government and LVBWB are undertaking educating
people to refrain from building houses in the 60 metres limit of the sea, lake
or river channels.
The LVBWB Public Relations
Engineer Gerald Itimbula urged people living in the lakeside in the regions of
Mwanza, Mara , Geita, Simiyu and Kagera to heed to advice and take precautions
and where necessary vacate the danger zone sooner than later.
According to the UN-run Flood and Drought Portal, the swelling
of Lake Victoria has been caused by increased rainfall and a spike in runoff
into rivers and streams that feed the lake, originating from countries such as
Rwanda and Burundi along with the three countries that border the lake: Kenya,
Uganda and Tanzania .
The body adds that runoff has
risen due to heavy rainfall combined with urbanization and agriculture, as
humans convert land that naturally absorbs water, such as forests and wetlands,
to cities or farms.
Data from the UN-run Flood and Drought Portal shows that runoff in all four sub-regions bordering Lake Victoria
increased 575 percent in the last four months of 2019 compared to the same
period in 2018 adding that rainfall in the regions surrounding the lake also
increased 162 percent from September to December 2019, compared to the same
period the year before.
A climate change simulation on
the same portal showed that rainfall in the Lake Victoria region is expected to
rise by about 10 percent in the next 16 years compared to the last 16. Runoff
in the Simiyu and Kagera lakeside regions in Tanzania, which contain Lake
Victoria's main feeder river, River Kagera, is also expected to rise by about
54 and 50 percent respectively.
Mara RC urges people to take
warnings seriously
In a visit to the Sota fishing
site in Rorya, Mara Regional Commissioner Adam Malima implored fishermen to be
wary of the rising Lake Victoria water levels.
This story was produced in partnership with InfoNile with support from Code for Africa and funding from the Pulitzer Center and National Geographic Society.
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