Families have been displaced in the Loiyangalani sub-county of Marsabit County following rising waters of Lake Turkana as climate change takes toll on human settlement.
The climate shocks have also disrupted human activities that include education, health, livelihoods and critical infrastructure.
Bearing the brunt is one of the smallest ethnic groups in the country, the Elmolo, whose sole economic activity is fishing and which has had 200 households displaced after their homes were submerged in water.
Marsabit County Director for Environment, Climate and Natural Resources, Ms Janet Ahadho said the rising water levels had caused significant losses to communities living along the lake who apart from being uprooted from their homes have also lost fishing gear to the rising waters.
Ms Ahadho told KNA that the lake has been rising steadily since 2010, forcing families out of their homes and submerging critical infrastructure including a fishing factory and cooling plants built by the government and development partners.
“This is a natural calamity. We cannot stop water from rising but we can mitigate against damages,” Ms Ahadho said.
The director pointed out that the rising water levels were linked to a combination of factors, including climate change, increased rainfall intensity and siltation owing to environmental destruction.
Ms.Ahadho said studies were ongoing to establish the full causes of the rising lake levels, including possible underground movements.
She disclosed that both levels of the government were now seeking climate loss and damage funding to compensate communities affected by the rising waters.
According to Ms Ahadho, Kenya, through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in partnership with the United Nations Development (UNDP), had prioritized rising lakes in the Great Rift Valley in a bid to access the Loss and Damage Fund.
Consequently, a multi-sectoral team conducted an assessment in Loiyangalani and other affected areas early this year to establish the extent of the losses and damages caused by the rising waters.
Ms Ahadho said the assessment report has been completed and a proposal submitted to the Santiago Network, which provides technical assistance to countries seeking climate-related funding.
She said feedback had already been received on the proposal, with the country being asked to provide additional details.
“What we are doing is quantifying the losses and damages in monetary terms. If you talk about fish, we look at the extent to which the fish factory has been affected and losses suffered along the value chain,” she said.
In addition, the Education sector will also be assessed including the impact of children missing school and the wider consequences of displacement on the affected families.
Marsabit County Secretary, Dr Halkano Arero said the County administration had also prioritized interventions to support families and communities affected by the rising waters.
He said the devolved unit in partnership with World Vision- Kenya, had set funds to construct nine classrooms and an administration block for El-Molo Bay Primary School, which got submerged.
Dr.Arero said a new site on higher ground had already been identified and that a memorandum of understanding between the county government and World Vision Kenya had been signed.
He said the county government is working with the Kenya Maritime Authority on plans to introduce ferry services to support operations and facilitate trade between Marsabit and Turkana counties as pledged by President Ruto.
Dr.Arero put the estimated loss created by the phenomenon to above Sh300 million adding that the county administration was exploring ways of reviving fish cold-chain facilities affected by the rising lake waters.
He added that Sh7 million had been allocated in the county’s 2026/2027 financial year budget to support fisher folks whose fishing gear that include boats were destroyed.
“Residents living on the shoreline have been advised to move to higher grounds,” he said, adding that a proposal had been made to the national government to support the input already made by the county government in settling families that are unable to relocate on their own.
The County Secretary said the county government was also engaging humanitarian organizations for support.
Commenting on the anticipated El-nino rains, Dr Arero said the county government has set aside Sh300 million for emergency operations in addition to several road construction projects aimed at improving access and to ease response to emergencies.
By Sebastian Miriti and Anthony Melly
