When the water started to rise, all the fish floated to the surface of the lake, bloated and dead, or convulsively dying. The people of the lakeside watched their livelihood disappear within a few days - there was no stopping the inundation. One of the tribal elders noticed the water had taken on a salty taste. Soon, it was lapping at the skimpy foundations of the wooden huts: there was nothing to do but flee before the onrush with what could be carried. Terrified refugees from tribes to the east reported a great roaring sound. Those who delayed were drowned. In a matter of weeks the water level rose four hundred feet.

LRB 1 July 1999 | PDF Download