In Africa, signs of an early global catastrophe

The geological processes taking place in the East African rift valley may lead to catastrophic consequences in the near future. In this region, the continent is slowly split into two parts, forming cracks and faults, threatening the transport and urban infrastructure.

As scientists predict, the eastern part of Africa will finally separate from the mainland in 3-4 million years. Associated with this process, deformation of the earth's crust led to the appearance of a geological fault - the Great Rift Valley, which stretches for about six thousand kilometers from Lebanon to Mozambique, and the Red Sea. The speed with which two plates (Nubian and Somali) depart from each other is 6-7 millimeters per year. In the future, this place will be flooded, and Kenya will turn into an island.

According to geologist David Adede, although the rift has remained tectonically inactive for a long time, small movements can occur in the earth's crust, leading to the appearance of zones with a large number of cracks on the surface. In this case, heavy rains worsen the situation, contributing to the emergence of other irregularities. So, on March 19, a major rift crossed the Kenyan road Mai-Mahiu Narok, which had to be urgently repaired, but this temporary measure will not save it from destruction.

In the future, the situation will only worsen, the scientist warned. As a result, natural disasters threatening people's lives will break out in the region. Therefore, it is necessary to draw a map of fault lines to predict the formation of new cracks and take this into account when building new buildings and engineering structures.