Staff reporter
NAMIBIA’S north-eastern regions received extensive rainfall over the past week, with the Zambezi region leading in the rainfall statistics, as the region’s river levels continue to rise.
According to Namibia Meteorological Services, Nkasa Rupara National Park in the Zambezi region recorded the highest rainfall of 130 mm by Friday morning.
The Zambezi Vocational Training Centre (ZVTC) and the Katima Mulilo airport took second and third place recording 20 mm and 14,2 mm of rainfall respectively on Friday.
RAIN: Rain continues to fall in many parts of Namibia. Photos: Facebook (Charmain Lalock, Willem van Wyk, Doris Werth, Riaan Mouton, Barnadette Campbell) 
RAIN: Rain continues to fall in many parts of Namibia. Photos: Facebook (Charmain Lalock, Willem van Wyk, Doris Werth, Riaan Mouton, Barnadette Campbell) 
RAIN: Rain continues to fall in many parts of Namibia. Photos: Facebook (Charmain Lalock, Willem van Wyk, Doris Werth, Riaan Mouton, Barnadette Campbell) 
RAIN: Rain continues to fall in many parts of Namibia. Photos: Facebook (Charmain Lalock, Willem van Wyk, Doris Werth, Riaan Mouton, Barnadette Campbell) 
RAIN: Rain continues to fall in many parts of Namibia. Photos: Facebook (Charmain Lalock, Willem van Wyk, Doris Werth, Riaan Mouton, Barnadette Campbell) 
RAIN: Rain continues to fall in many parts of Namibia. Photos: Facebook (Charmain Lalock, Willem van Wyk, Doris Werth, Riaan Mouton, Barnadette Campbell) 
RAIN: Rain continues to fall in many parts of Namibia. Photos: Facebook (Charmain Lalock, Willem van Wyk, Doris Werth, Riaan Mouton, Barnadette Campbell)
The Zambezi region also took the number one spot when it came to Thursday’s rainfall figures, with Bwabwata National Park, which is located in the Zambezi and Kavango East regions, recording 92 mm of rainfall and the Katima Mulilo airport recording 16 mm.
The north-eastern region’s heavy rainfall did not start this week. According to Gondwana Collection Namibia, the Zambezi region also received significant rainfall last week as the Chobe River Camp received 60 mm of rain, while the rain gauge meters at the Zambezi Mubala Lodge and Zambezi Mubala Camp overflowed with more than 100 mm of rain.
Considering this, it should come as no surprise that the water levels at the north-eastern rivers continue to rise quite rapidly. According to NamWater, the Zambezi River and the Okavango River stood at 4,40 m and 5,58 m on Friday morning respectively.
This means that the Okavango River’s water level is higher compared to the same time last year, while the Zambezi River’s water level has increased by 2,02 m over the last month.
According to NamWater, the fact that the Zambezi River’s water level is above the 4 m-mark means that the river is overflowing and pushing into the eastern Zambezi floodplains.
It is worth noting that the heavy rains were not limited to the north-eastern regions this week. In fact, after somewhat of a brief hiatus, Windhoek received some rain this week, and recorded 10,2 mm of rainfall on Friday, according to Namibia Meteorological Services.
Many Namibians from various parts of the country also shared photos of the rain in their specific towns on Facebook. One of these photos, taken by Riaan Mouton, shows the cloudy skies of Abenab, in the Otjozondjupa region. Another photo, taken by Willem van Wyk, shows a rainbow emerging through cloudy skies at a farm between Rehoboth and Kalkrand in the Hardap region.
