THE DELUGE

Every year the Nyando River in western Kenya breaks its banks and its nearby residents have to survive massive flooding, which submerges their homes and washes away their crops and their property. Entire towns are displaced and its residents forced to live in refugee camps. This has led to the spread of water borne diseases, and epidemics are reaching alarming proportions. In 2007 the government announced that it was funding what should have been a permanent solution to the problem. But after billions of Shillings spent, the situation remains as dire as before. This film draws attention to the crisis that reached a crescendo in 2018.

In April this year catastrophic floods throughout Kenya displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom were forced into makeshift refugee camps. Scientists say the destruction of forests upstream and the draining of swamps downriver exacerbates the problem of torrential rains as does the siltation or rivers. But is the annual deluge a natural disaster or a man made catastrophe? Find out on this week’s edition of Giving Nature a Voice.