An area affected by floods in the Gatumba district of Bujumbura, Burundi, April 19.
Photographer: Tchandrou Nitanga/AFP/Getty Images
Africa’s Giant Lake Floods Nearby Cities, Displacing Thousands
Floods see water levels in Lake Tanganyika rise to record, displacing thousands of people and wreaking havoc in some of the world’s poorest nations.
Record water levels in the world’s second-biggest freshwater lake have triggered floods that have displaced thousands of people in the poorest country on the planet and are threatening populations and livelihoods in three other African nations.
The latest wave of torrential rains to hit eastern and central Africa in April and May — spurred by the El Niño weather phenomenon — have devastated parts of the region, killing at least 260 in Kenya, 155 in Tanzania and 29 in Burundi, which has the world’s lowest gross domestic product per capita.