A man was struck and killed by lightning in the Kalumba area of the Zambezi Region on Monday.

The victim, identified as Gift Mwangala, a Zambian national, was employed as a cattle herder in the area.  

A report by the Namibian police states that Mwanagala was busy bottle-feeding a calf when both he and the animal were struck by lightning, instantly killing them both.

Kafuti Musangu, who witnessed the incident a few metres from where the deceased died, said they were feeding calves and milking cattle just before the rain started.

A resident of Kongola in the Zambezi Region Lucas Kulandata has lost 17 heads of cattle after they were struck by lightning.

Kulandata said when the clouds were forming, he sensed danger.

After it finished raining, and Kulandata said he called the cattle herder to fill him in on what might have transpired in the forest.

The news was however disappointing because 17 of his 95 cattle were struck by lightning.

The 21-year-old cattle herder was also hit and was rushed to the clinic for pain in one of his legs.

Kulandata said he suffered a huge loss.

A house in the Katutura Central Constituency caught fire after it was struck by lightning last night.

Rain in Windhoek has brought relief to many but to some, it has caused distress.

The lightning struck a house on Philip Turimei Street and burnt down all belongings in the first room leaving the tenant in the house with nothing.

Thunderous weather is characteristic of this time of year, and the number of people who have been struck by or who have died from lightning bolts is significant. 

That raises the question of how people can reduce their risk of exposure to being struck by lightning.

Jesaya Hatutale is a mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry teacher at Windhoek Technical High School.

Hatutale has a passion for science and explains what happens during a lightning strike.

Lightning struck ten cattle at Shaditata Village in the Mukwe Constituency of the Kavango East Region.

It started raining heavily on Saturday evening, while the Muhora family was preparing to plow the next day.

When lightning struck, the family says they witnessed a bright light from the hut where they were sitting.

Venturing outside to inspect what had happened, Mukoya Muhora says they initially thought the lightning had hit a tree.

That was until they came upon eight cattle lying dead in the kraal, while two more lay dead under a nearby tree.