Lake Naivasha Surges 1.5 km Inland — Thousands Displaced as Homes, Schools and Farms Flood

Tourist boats that usually carry visitors on Kenya's Lake Naivasha have been repurposed in recent weeks to evacuate residents as waters surge far inland. Local officials say the lake has advanced up to 1.5 kilometres from its shoreline — an unprecedented reach that has left entire neighbourhoods submerged.

Communities Overwhelmed

Residents in the Kihoto district describe waist-deep water inside houses, overflowing sanitation systems and streets turned into canals. "It hasn't happened like this before," said Rose Alero, a 51-year-old grandmother whose home is flooded. "People are suffering. They have nowhere to go."

Hundreds of homes are completely submerged, churches and police stations sit underwater, and floating vegetation mats surround buildings. In one sudden surge, children had to be ferried out of school on makeshift rafts.

Scale of Displacement and Immediate Response

Joyce Cheche, head of disaster risk management for Nakuru County, estimates roughly 7,000 people have been displaced. County teams have assisted with transport and implemented public health measures, but there has been no financial compensation to date. Workers in the region's vital flower-export sector are staying away over fears of cholera and landslides, leaving businesses shuttered and livelihoods at risk.

Authorities also warn of increased danger from hippos—numerous in the lake and now moving closer to flooded settlements. Along the shoreline, bleached trunks of once-lush acacia trees stand submerged as water continues to advance at about one metre per day.

Causes: Climate, Land Use and Tectonics

Scientists point to heavier rainfall linked to climate change and to land degradation from population pressures as major contributors to rising lake levels. However, Kenyan geologist John Lagat, regional manager at the Geothermal Development Corporation, emphasizes a geological factor: the Rift Valley lakes lie along a long fault. He notes that tectonic shifts over decades have altered underground outflows and, in his view, played a key role in trapping water in the basins.

"When English settlers arrived in the late 19th century the lake was larger; plate movements later reduced it, and further shifts gradually sealed underground outflows," said Lagat. He added that heavier rains and land degradation are also having a "substantial" effect.

The phenomenon of expanding lakes in the Rift Valley has been recorded at other basins and has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes across the region.

Outlook and Local Concerns

Residents expressed anxiety about the coming rainy season and uncertainty about long-term solutions. "We are very worried," Alero said from her flooded home. "We can't tell what will happen." Local officials face immediate humanitarian needs — shelter, clean water and disease prevention — while experts debate how to address the combined environmental and geological drivers behind the flooding.