A further 11 people have died in floods in Morocco, just 1 week after torrential rain caused flash floods in the south of the country, leaving as many as 36 people dead.
The second spate of flooding came after heavy rainfall affected southern Morocco between 29 November and 1 December. The heavy rain had been forecast and flood warnings issued (see our report here).
According to MAP, the Moroccan Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that 11 people have been killed due to inundations and collapsing houses in the latest floods. They also said that full mobilisation of emergency services, including air force, police and civil protection, helped to mitigate the impact of the flooding. Since 27 November 1,093 people had been rescued and 1,600 evacuated in the flood-stricken southern regions of Guelmim Es-Smara and Souss Massa Draa. Authorities had re-opened 9 national, 22 regional and 35 provincial roads that had been closed due to flood damage, ending the isolation of around 103 villages. The statement said that a further 356 villages remained cut off by floods.
Local media have quoted Abdulaziz Erabah, Morocco’s Minister of Equipment and Transport, as saying that flooding has caused MAD 1 billion of damage. In a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the minister said that a large number of roads and bridges had suffered severe damage.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Launch Appeal
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has been closely following up on the situation in Morocco, and has mobilised its operations teams to provide the necessary support for the Moroccan Red Crescent.
The Federation has also allocated a Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of 245,000 Swiss francs to procure and distribute food and non-food items to refill the basic stocks of the Moroccan National Society, and to provide essential services including first aid and psycho-social support.
The IFRC have launched an appeal for the Morocco floods. Details can be found here.
