Victoria Falls has been closed to visitors for nearly two months. The city of Livingstone in Zambia, just outside Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, has had no reported cases of COVID-19. Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu made the decision to reopen the falls based on this, according to Lonely Planet.
Last year this tourism hub was deeply affected by a misleading report stating that the falls had ‘dried to a trickle’. False claims were made that a drought in the region due to the impact of climate change had dried the falls up almost entirely. This, however, was not the case.
The annual dry season contributes to a decrease in the falls flow, but not nearly to a trickle.
Toward the end of April this year, the falls reached a decade-high level. On 20 April, 3,922 cubic metres per second was recorded compared to 1,007 cubic metres per second on 20 April 2019.
Zambezi River Authority public relations and communications manager Elizabeth Karonga said the high water levels were due to a significant increase in both rainfall and run-off in the catchment area, upstream of Victoria Falls during the rainfall season.
The reopening of the falls will hopefully see a fruitful increase in tourism revenue for this hub.
President Lungu has assured that the proper health protocol measures and guidelines for visitors will be implemented and social distancing will be encouraged.
Take a look a the falls in all its glory during the decade-high flow:
Image credit: Getaway gallery
