This huge crack in Kenya is splitting Africa in two

[jw5]

Geologists say a large part of East Africa is slowly breaking away from the rest of the continent​

What would you do if a huge crack in the Earth suddenly appeared in the place where you lived? Though this might seem like an occurrence worthy of a Hollywood disaster movie, it has actually happened in real life! In 2018, huge fissures began to appear along the Great Rift Valley in Kenya. While geologists have long known that the tectonic plates along East Africa are slowly moving apart, the enormous cracks appearing in the earth and destroying homes provided a more visceral demonstration of that fact.

Experts predict that the rift will continue to grow for the next 5-10 million years until East Africa has fully separated from the rest of the continent. This will create a new ocean and turn East Africa into an island.

 

[jw5]

Origin - On March 18, 2018, a huge crack began to appear after heavy rainfall in the Great Rift Valley region, Kenya. The crack, which until recently was covered with volcanic ash and hidden from view.

 

[jw5]

Great Rift Valley - This is a low-lying region where tectonic plates split or move away from each other, according to National Geographic.

 

[jw5]

East African Rift System - The Great Rift Valley is part of the larger East African Rift System which stretches thousands of miles through multiple countries. It's one of the largest rifts in the world.

 

[jw5]

Natural phenomenon -

According to a local newspaper, the Daily Nation, the huge fissure is the result of strong movement deep inside the Earth, which left deep, visible cracks in Narok county, Kenya.

 

[jw5]

Wide-scale damage - Signs of damage were first seen on the busy Mai Mahiu-Narok road. At one point, the crack was 50 ft (15 m) deep and over 65 ft (20 m) wide, according to the Kenyan newspaper, the Daily Nation.

 

[jw5]

Victims of the disaster - According to the same publication, families who live near the crack are beginning to move. Local resident Mary Wambui, who is 72 years old, fears that staying there is like dicing with death.

 

[jw5]

Panic - Wambui was having dinner with her family on the day that the ground suddenly started to split under her feet, dividing her house in two.

 

[jw5]

Tremors -

Another Kenyan man, Eliud Njoroge Mbugua, also saw the ground open inside his house, according to Reuters.

 

[jw5]

Fear spreads - Other cracks began to appear in the city's main road after weeks of heavy rain, flooding, and tremors in the ground, according to Reuters.

 

[zhihau]

Oh my…

 

[Pinkieslut]

Good news!

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

The inhabitants have to decide whether they want to live in eastern Africa or western Africa.

 

[jw5]

Helplessness - Eliud Njoroge Mbugua said his wife had begun to shout for neighbors to help them carry their belongings when they first noticed the cracks in their house, in the city of Mai Mahiu.

 

[jw5]

Homeless - In the following days, the house became so unstable that it had to be demolished.

 

[jw5]

Homeless - Reuters reported how the couple were still looking for somewhere to live.

 

[syed putra]

China will make tons of money building bridges there.

 

[eatshitndie]

virgin hymen finally breaking?

 

[jw5]

History - In an interview with the Daily Nation, geologist David Adede said he believed that the fissure had previously been filled with volcanic ash but that the heavy rains had washed that away, leaving the cracks exposed.

 

[aerobwala]

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