2023-04-15 09:30:00
Watch the video: Up to 5000 fatalities every year – this is the most dangerous lake in the world.
Lake Victoria is the largest freshwater lake in Africa. It is part of the states of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya and is an important life-giver for around 30 million people. But the huge lake harbors a lot of dangers.
According to research by Africa’s National Lake Rescue Institute, the lake is “arguably the most dangerous body of water in the world, measured by the number of fatalities per square kilometer.” Up to 5,000 lives are said to fall victim to Lake Victoria every year. Due to the location and size of the lake, powerful storms regularly brew, killing many local fishermen. Many of the fishermen cannot afford life jackets and find themselves in a hopeless situation when their boat capsizes. An early warning system launched in 2017, which sends text messages to the fishermen’s phones and provides information about weather developments, gives hope. However, the powerful storms are not the only reason for the huge potential for danger. The water level of the body of water has risen dramatically in the past due to heavy rains and the rise of the Indian Ocean. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people had to flee and entire houses were destroyed. But not only the people who live on or around the lake are in danger. Since all three neighboring countries still pump their sewage unfiltered into the huge lake, the water is heavily polluted.
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