Pupils at Loruk Primary School in Baringo are living in fear of hippo attacks after rising water from Lake Baringo flooded their school compound.
The boarding school pupils are especially in danger of the nighttime roaming routines of the hippos which hover around when darkness sets in.
Speaking to journalists, the school head Issac Rerimoi noted the danger the pupils face daily saying, “Apart from the hippos and crocodiles, we also have snakes and other reptiles who come as a result of the swelling of Lake Baringo.”
The flooding waters have also cut off the school from the main road leading to them having to use an alternative route.
Lake Naivasha at its highest level, 2020.
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File
Communities living around the lake have also suffered significantly not only by having to move regularly but also by living in fear of flooding and having sleepless nights over it.
One of the residents who had previously moved further from the lake to avoid the swelling water body is now on the edge of having to move for a second time stating that this time round, the water is rising at a faster rate.
He is one of the last few residents who still have houses standing near the lake.
The residents are now calling on the government to help them with alternatives as most of them do not have anywhere else to go.
Environmental experts have attributed the rising waters of the lake to the increasing rainfall in the region.
Lake Bogoria, a neighboring lake, has also faced similar concerns with residents also having to move to accommodate the flooding lake.
The gate to the entrance of the Lake Bogoria National Park for instance, has completely been submerged affecting tourism significantly in the area.
Flooding lakes is not something new in Kenya. In a report by The Guardian dubbed a ‘Drowning World’ in 2022, major lakes including Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana were found to have flooded at the same time as lakes Naivasha, Nakuru and Baringo.
A photo Flamingoes at Lake Bogoria,2020.
Photo
File
