East Africa Launches System to Predict Floods, Save Lives

Millions of families around Lake Victoria just got a powerful new shield against deadly floods and water shortages.

The Lake Victoria Basin Commission launched a regional Water Information System this week that connects five countries through one shared digital platform. For the first time, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi can see the same real-time data about water levels, weather patterns, and environmental risks.

The system went live at a technical workshop in Kisumu, Kenya, where experts from all partner nations gathered to test and configure the platform. Executive Secretary Masinde Bwire called it a turning point for the 40 million people who call the basin home.

"We are moving from fragmented data systems to a coordinated regional approach," Bwire explained. The platform combines weather forecasts, water quality measurements, and environmental data into one accessible system that all countries can use together.

The technology means communities will get earlier warnings when floods threaten. Farmers will know sooner when droughts are coming. Governments can plan water distribution more fairly when resources run low.

Kenya and Rwanda are already setting up flood risk management applications using the new system. Basin-wide monitoring will track water quality and predict how much water flows through the region's rivers and tributaries.

The Ripple Effect

Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake and the world's second-largest freshwater lake by surface area. Millions depend on it for drinking water, fishing, farming, and transportation.

Until now, each country tracked its own slice of the lake separately. When floods struck one nation, neighbors often learned too late to help or prepare their own communities.

The new system changes that isolation into cooperation. Scientists in Tanzania can now share rainfall data instantly with colleagues in Uganda. Water managers in Kenya can coordinate with teams in Rwanda before problems cross borders.

The Lake Victoria Basin Commission developed the platform with help from the Nile Basin Initiative. Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union funded the project through KfW and GIZ.

Technical teams from each country received hands-on training during the workshop. Every nation can now operate and maintain the system while contributing data back to the regional network.

Bwire described the launch as more than just installing software. "It is an investment in resilience, transparency and shared prosperity for our region," he said.

Climate change has made weather patterns less predictable across East Africa in recent years. Floods arrive with less warning while droughts last longer and strike harder.

With shared data and coordinated planning, these five nations can now face those challenges together instead of alone.