Vreugde heers midde die versengede droogte toe die eerste reën van die seisoen Maandag uitgesak het. Karen Marais het die foto 15 km suid van Otjiwarongo geneem.
Vreugde heers midde die versengede droogte toe die eerste reën van die seisoen Maandag uitgesak het. Karen Marais het die foto 15 km suid van Otjiwarongo geneem.

Dams receive inflow after first rain

Francoise Steynberg
The rainy season kicked off earlier than expected with some farmers regaining courage in the midst of a scorching drought when the first rains fell.

Dirk Potgieter of Farm Sukses between Otjiwarongo and Okahandja's video on social media of showers that fell on Monday rekindled hope among Namibians. Potgieter couldn't stop grinning when he spoke to Namibian Sun's sister publication, Republikein: "Everywhere I drive on the farm, it's just water. Farmers, especially in the south, should not lose heart. The rainy season has begun".

According to his neighbour, Rian van Wyk from Farm Doornkom, between 15mm and 25mm fell there.

This area's water flows to the Omatako Dam, which in turn feeds the Von Bach Dam.

More good news is that rain also fell in the Von Bach's catchment area, which is currently only 11% full.

Dam bulletin

According to the latest dam bulletin from NamWater, the Daan Viljoen and Tilda Viljoen dams in the Omaheke Region received inflow after parts in the east such as Summerdown and Witvlei enjoyed showers, and between 20mm and 25mm of rain fell at Gobabis.

The Daan Viljoen Dam in the Swart Nossob River received an inflow of 27 000 cubic metres and rose from 0.5% to 6.8%. The Tilda Viljoen Dam in Gobabis received an inflow of 2 000 cubic metres and the dam level rose from 2.7% to 2.9%.

Showers were also reported in the Etosha National Park, between Tsumeb and Oshivelo, at Ongwediva, Otavi, Omaruru, Okahandja, Otjiwarongo and on the Rietfontein road north-east of Gobabis.

On Monday morning, 17.3 mm was recorded about 10 kilometres south of Kombat and light rain continued throughout the morning.

According to weather experts, the rainy conditions are due to favourable upper air conditions with "sliver-like thunderstorms" moving over from Angola. This may continue until Friday and is possibly an early indication that Namibia may also get rain in October.

The south is, however, still waiting with bated breath for rain, with all eyes on the Hardap Dam's level which stands at 8%, with irrigation from the dam having to stop at 6%.

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-22

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