Kalemie: Hundreds of homes submerged due to the rise of Lake Tanganyika's waters

Hundreds of houses in the city of Kalemie (Tanganyika) are under the waters of Lake Tanganyika and the Lukuga River.

As a result of this natural disaster, residents are forced to abandon their homes to live elsewhere, a Radio Okapi reporter observed.

Witnesses report that houses, which were built hundreds of meters away from the lake, have over the years been caught up to and even overtaken by the waters.

"The lake waters are causing us serious suffering. Usually, it is in April that these waters rise, but we are surprised that this year the phenomenon started in January. We no longer know what we are going to do with the children," laments a resident of a stricken neighborhood, whose plot is already half flooded.

"There are more or less 500 houses that are not only swept away but also occupied by the waters; there are even schools," recalls Nazaire Akilimali, a resident of the DAV neighborhood.