| THE
FALL & RISE OF LAKE KARIBA |
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The
lives of many animals and humans were lost in the
creation of Lake Kariba. With an expanding
population and growth in industry harnessing hydro
electric power from the mighty Zambezi River proved
irresistible to the authorities in Zimbabwe and
Zambia.
At the time of construction the dam was the
largest in the world. It's size and strength remain
awesome, with it's arching form holding back
millions of tons of lake water. |
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| It's
construction is similar to a load-bearing arch
turned on it's side; the convex shape absorbs the
pressure and the base, straining to spring apart, is
held fast by the ancient Kariba gorge walls. |
| The
people who suffered most by the dams
construction are the Batonga tribe. They
were forcibly moved from their ancestral
riverside lands into the harsh interior, but
they were convinced that the wrathful river
god Nyaminyami would come to their rescue. |
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In
July 1957, it seemed their wishes might come
true as a spectacular, once in a 10,000
years, storm helped the Zambezi to burst
through the constructional coffer dam to
destroy many months of work. Soon after the
angry god whipped up the waters which swept
away, not only the suspension footbridge
between Zimbabwe and Zambezi, but also the
road bridge. |
Eventually
the rains stopped but the god Nyaminyami
hadn't finished. He sent unusually high
temperatures and workers began to die from
heatstroke. The tools and building equipment
were so hot they had to be carried in
buckets of water and hosed down. A
further eighteen men perished when they
accidentally fell into wet concrete during
construction.
The dam project may eventually have been
completed, but to the Batonga things aren't
over for there have been some nervous
reports of cracks in the wall! |
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Kariba
Lake's biggest crisis, since it's
construction by man, was the drought of the
1980's and early 1990's which caused the
water level to fall below the level
necessary to supply the country's
hydroelectric needs. The towns and cities of
Zimbabwe experienced frequent power cuts and
it was soon necessary to buy in electricity
from South Africa. The lake was still only a
quarter full in the mid -1990's, but after
the start of unusually heavy rains at the
end of 1998, in Angola and Zambia, this was
all to change. The main catchments areas of
the Zambezi River, as well as high rainfall
in minor catchments in Zimbabwe, meant that
by June 1999 the water level of Lake Kariba
had risen just short of it's maximum level
of 489m. Much to the previously exposed
shoreline became submerged and peninsula's
such as Spurwing and Fothergill, which had
both ceased to be island in 1989, were once
again cut off from the mainland.
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Locals
around Kariba Lake fish daily for
bream.
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These
pictures may paint a peaceful scene of
locals enjoying a pastime! But for
many of these people, the bream they
catch will be their only meal of the
day and they are standing in dangerous
waters. The unwary are sometimes taken
from the bank by crocodile or attacked
by hippo.
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| The
sluice gates where still closed in July 1999,
despite the problems of rising water levels,
as the lake authorities were reluctant to
gamble on when the next goods rains would
come, particularly since so much of the
country now relies on Lake Kariba for its
water and electricity. |
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