KARIBA DAM
The Illustrated London News, March 1, 1958
The circular coffer-dam at Kariba, built to exclude river water while part of the main dam of the Kariba hydro-electric power project was constructed, sprung a leakon February 16 and became flooded in the worst recorded flooding of the Zambesi river. A road bridge was swept away and work in the underground power station temporarily suspended.
AFTER THE FLOODS AT KARIBA: SEALING THE DAM TO HOLD BACK THE ZAMBESI AND RESETTLING AFRICANS.
The Illustrated London News, December 13, 1958
With the recent filling in of the sluices in the Kariba Dam, the Zambesi— Africa’s fourth largest river—was to be reduced for fifty miles below the dam to what is by normal standards a mere trickle. The amount of water flowing over this stretch of the river will not be sufficient to sustain the present popu lation of fish, and will probably also have a serious effect on the crocodiles and hippopotami. On both sides of the river the tsetse fly is prevalent, but it is only on the southern side that the fly seriously menaces human life.
With the river crossing made easier, guard posts are to be set up to prevent Africans on the north bank making hunting expeditions to the south, and thus carrying back the dangerous type of tsetse fly. Fifty miles below the dam, the Kafue joins the Zambesi. In the side of the gorge south of the dam, in a huge subterranean cavity, work is continuing on the hydro-electric installations, and, with the delays caused by this year’s floods now made good, the supply of urgently needed power will probably begin in 1960.
In March this year the Kariba Dam, on the border between Southern and Northern Rhodesia, was barely showing above the waters of the Zambesi. The unprecedented floods of 1957 had been exceeded, and this caused damage and delay. Bridges at the site were swept away and, as can be seen from the lower right-hand photograph, water poured over the top of the coffer dam inside which the lower part of the main dam was being constructed.
Now, however, after only a few months, the dam towers over 300 ft. above the river and on December 2 work began on the sealing off of the openings in the dam wall through which the water was still flowing. The sealing operation—a notable milestone in the realisation of this ambitious project—marked the beginning of the formation of the vast lake on the upstream side of the dam. Water isto continue to flow through the dam at a reduced rate, which was agreed upon by the Portuguese and Rhodesian authorities through whose territory the river flows in its lower reaches, and the lake, which will finally cover some 2000 square miles, is expected to take about five years to fill.
It will then be one of the world’s largest artificial lakes, stretching miles away behind the dam along the Kariba Valley and covering land which some 50,000 Africans, mostly of the Tonga tribe, have previously inhabited. The moving and resettlement of the Africans has already begun, and, in addition to this large-scale human migration, large numbers of wild animals will also be forced to find new homes. Large areas of the basin which is to be flooded have been cleared of trees and it will thus be possible to use trawling nets for fishing in the new lake.
TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE GREAT KARIBA LAKE: THE DRAMATIC WAY IN WHICH THE RHODESIAN BUSH IS BEING CLEARED.
The Illustrated London News, May 9, 1959
In order to provide fishing grounds and harbours on the shores of the vast lake which is rapidly filling up behind the great Kariba Dam, on the Zambezi River, Northern Rhodesia, more than 100,000 acres of rough bushland have to be cleared. This is done by the dramatic methods shown in these pictures. The bush is being cleared here by two enormous bulldozers, which haul 8-ft. steel balls on a huge battleship anchor chain.
The bull dozers are of D.N. Caterpillar type and have a capacity of 320 h.p., while the steel balls weigh 11 tons. By this method the bush can be cleared at the rate of SO acres an hour. If progress should be impeded by an unusually resilient tree—such as the fibrous baobab—a special attachment fittingly called a “stinger,” is fixed on to the front of the bull dozers, which are then driven forward. The “ stinger ” is pushed into the stringy bark at an angle and the tree is thus up rooted.
Following the bulldozers in their path of destruction can usually be seen scavengers in the form of storks, which feed on rats and snakes deprived of their homes. The cost of the clearing has been estimated at over £1,000,000, and it is thought to be the most extensive bush clearance ever carried out. Huge quadrants of the Zambezi Valley are being deprived of their vegetation and animal life.
In about five years, when the flooding of the Kariba Gorge will be complete and when one of the world's largest artificial lakes 2,000 sq. miles in area will have been formed, trawlers will be able safely to drag their nets across the treeless floor of the vast lake. The future catch of fish has already been estimated by experts: the shallower parts of the lake those less than 100 ft. deep should produce 13 tons of fish per square mile, making an annual total of 9,000 tons.
The clearance has meant death for many of the large animals such as the buffalo and zebra living on the islands in Lake Kariba. Since these animals are too big to be transported in boats they will not swim ashore most of them are being shot. The large game able to swim is being driven from the islands into the water and then escorted to the shore by rescue boats. The smaller animals are driven into 30-yard nets and carried on boats.
At the time of these operations the Game Department was making a scientific survey of the animals* reactions to the conditions. Mr. Derek Kelsey, Assistant Game Officer, appealed for help in the rescue operations. He said that boats, outboard engines, portable radios and binoculars were needed. The radios were needed for communication between the rescue boats.
An Airman's view of the Kariba Dam
A photograph of the Kariba Dam taken by a photographic reconnaissance Vickers Valliant of No. 543 Squadron, R.A.F Bomber Command, based at Wyton, Huntingdonshire, and piloted by the station Commander, Group Captain C. D. North-Lewis. It was taken from a height of 8,500ft. by an oblique camera.
Kariba Dam
The story of how Lake Kariba came to be, is an interesting one. How this mystical place has become one of Zambia's top tourist destinations and a popular family holiday for locals alike.
Did you know?
• The chief designer of the Kariba Dam Wall, Andre Coyne, was a well-known French engineer and inventor. He went on to design 70 dams in 14 countries globally.
• It took up to three years for the dam wall to be completed. Construction began on the 6th November 1956, and was finished in 1959.
• Well over 1 million cubic metres of concrete was poured into the walls to sustain the pressure of nearly ten million litres of water passing through the spillway each second.
• The filling of Lake Kariba between 1958 and 1963 caused more than 20 earthquakes of greater than 5 magnitude on the Richter Scale.
• Operation Noah, a 5‐year wildlife rescue operation, successfully relocated over 6,000 animals, mostly to the Matusadona National Park, whilst Lake Kariba was filling up after the completion of the dam wall.
• Lake Kariba Dam is located approximately halfway down the Zambezi River.
• The structure is 128 meters high with a crest of 579 meters in length.
• The dam has a volume 1,032,000 cubic meters of water!
• The name Kariba comes from the local word Kariva or karinga, meaning “trap”, which refers to a rock that was thrust out of the swirling water at the entrance of the gorge, where the dam wall was to be built.
• Lake Kariba has many mooring opportunities both on the main land and on islands, offering beautiful and romantic spots with idyllic waterfalls in places like the Sanyati Gorge.
• Lake Kariba is home to some fantastic fish species including the famous Tiger fish, Tilapia Bream, Catfish and the mighty Vundu. For most of the year, Lake Kariba is truly one of the greatest places in Africa for fishing.
• Best of all, Lake Kariba has the perfect climate to visit all year round!
Operation Noah
In the late 1950s, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia) became home to the world’s largest man-made dam - a hydroelectric power station built across the Zambezi River, about 400km from Victoria Falls. It would provide power for most of the country, but in the process to form Lake Kariba and flood the Zambezi Valley – home to thousands of native animals. In a wildlife rescue operation lasting 5 years, over 6000 animals were rescued and relocated to the mainland.
DOES THE NYAMI NYAMI EXIST?
What do you know about Nyami Nyami's Story during the Construction of Kariba Dam?
Tales of ancient gods and guardian angels are told vividly in the Zambezi region. It is here where you hear whispers of a great serpent-fish that is said to have the body of a snake and the torso of a fish. Whilst foreigners will say this creature is born of the imagination of the locals, the Tonga people will point to a lot of “signs” to justify its existence.
In 1955, a decision to tame the mighty Zambezi River and erect a dam wall was put forward. The Kariba Dam wall, as it was to be called, would create the largest manmade lake (in terms of volume but not surface area) in the world. The power stations that would be subsequently built would generate 700 megawatts of electricity; enough to satisfy over 90 percent of the country’s demand for power. Although this decision was largely seen to benefit everyone, it was not welcomed by everyone affected.
Arguably, the Tonga people were the worst affected as they were forced to uproot from their home for centuries and displaced to the higher safer ground that was less fertile and comfortable to live. After much resistance, the Tonga people reluctantly vacated their beloved home but vowed to return. It is said that the tribe elders, in their anger, summoned Nyami Nyami, the guardian of the river, to stop the project and pour out his wrath upon the people who had disturbed the peace of his people.
In 1956, the dam project commenced and the first bricks were laid. With the dam wall construction making good progress and the lake water levels already steadily rising, disaster struck in 1957. The Zambezi region witnessed a 1000-year flood in which a number of the builders were tragically killed. Some of those killed were foreign dam builders whose bodies disappeared mysteriously.
When efforts to recover their bodies failed, the elders of the Tonga tribe where approached and asked to lend their expertise and knowledge of the river to retrieve the bodies. The elders explained that Nyami Nyami had caused the disaster and if the builders wanted to appease the River god, they would need to make a sacrifice.
Initially, most of the builders and project managers laughed off the advice, but with the impending arrival of the deceased’s kin who would be expecting to bury their loved ones, the Europeans agreed.
A sacrifice of a white calf was made, as dictated by tradition. Come the next morning, the foreigners were awe-struck when the calf had disappeared and the bodies were left in its place. To this day, those events are shrouded in mystery with many conflicting explanations as to why and how things transpired.
During the next rainy season, the region saw even worse floods than those of the previous year. The Tonga people, as was to be expected, believed that the Nyami Nyami had struck again. This time, the floods swept away 11 Italian builders. Their bodies were later discovered in the partially wet cement of the dam wall.
It was at this point that, arguably, the bravest and most controversial, decision was made. After making his calculations, the Chief Project Engineer decided that it would be more structurally sound to leave the bodies plastered on the wall than to make attempts to remove them. Today, their bodies are part of the dam wall.
As explained by Narcissus Nhemachena, who was one of the construction workers present during construction of the dam wall, “It took five long years for the dam to be constructed because proper rituals had not been performed to ask for permission from Nyami Nyami to construct the dam. Cows were sacrificed and sack loads of money were thrown into the river to appease the Nyami Nyami. He caused some floods and loss of life, but at last he was kind enough to let the dam wall to be completed. It was the work of the Tonga elders and their spirit mediums to persuade the Nyami Nyami to allow the Zambezi to be tamed.”
Some members of the Tonga tribe believe that Nyami Nyami was separated from his wife during the dam wall construction. They say that he grows angrier with every passing year and it is just a matter of time before he unleashes his devastating power again so that he can be reunited with his love again. Fact or fiction? You decide!
@Changa Safari
Hon. Rodney Malindi Sikumba
Zambia Tourism