The downpours in the Lake Victoria basin have officially exceeded the historic mark as the water level is at 13.42 metres, with more than 200 deaths reported in Kenya.
An assessment by Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), whose results were released a week ago, shows the water volume of the world’s largest freshwater lake increased marginally compared to 13.41-metre mark recorded on May 5, 1964.
“We have to take urgent action since more than 200,000 people have been displaced in Kenya and Uganda,” Dr Matano said at a virtual meeting attended by water experts from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania a week ago.
Dr Matano said Uganda has authorised power generation company Eskom to double the rate of water being released to 2,400 cubic metres per second, but added that the situation would ease soon.
Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment has sent a notification on disaster preparedness to EAC partner states as required by the protocol for sustainable development of the basin.
