On Friday, September 6, it began to rain heavily in some provinces in the south of Morocco. One year after the earthquake in September 2023, the country is once again succumbing to the force of nature. According to the latest data from the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior on the provisional balance of losses and damages caused by the heavy rains, 17 deaths have been recorded in total, among whom three are foreigners, one of whom is of Spanish nationality.
Official sources at the Foreign Ministry explained: “A Spanish citizen has died in Morocco in a traffic accident caused by torrential rains. The family has been informed by the Consulate. The deputy consul in Casablanca has travelled to Marrakech to provide all necessary assistance.”
According to the figures, Tata province was the worst affected by the floods, which left ten dead.
Three people have died in Errachidia, including a Canadian and a Peruvian. In the other affected provinces, two people have died in Tiznit, two in Tinguir, including the Spaniard, and finally one more in Taroudant. In addition, the search by emergency teams for the four missing in Tata continues.
Regarding material damage, the same official source has reported the collapse of around 56 houses, 27 of them with total damage, as well as the total or partial collapse of 8 medium-sized infrastructures. So far, technical interventions have made it possible to repair the damage to the drinking water, telephone and electricity supply networks, as well as the restoration of water and telecommunications services.
Road access to the affected areas remains blocked in some parts of the region. Of the 110 roadblocks, approximately 84 roads have been re-established so far.
An expected and unusual meteorological event
In Tata, one of the worst-affected areas, around 250 litres of rain per square metre have fallen in 48 hours. In other areas such as Tinguir and Ouarzazate, the latter known as one of the country’s tourist hotspots, 114 mm and 82 mm have been recorded respectively. According to Moroccan authorities, the rainfall recorded over the past weekend represents around half of the rainfall in these regions for an entire year.
On Thursday, September 5, Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM) issued a red alert for the weekend, warning of rain. These rains are caused by the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone over the north of the continent. So far, the Moroccan government has asked residents and tourists in the area to avoid visiting or transiting through the affected areas.
Heavy rains in North Africa and the Sahel
Morocco has not been the only country in the region hit by the rainy storms. In southern Algeria, three people have died in the cities of Taanrasset, Naama and Illizi, including a girl. Dozens of other people have been rescued in other parts of the country such as Tindouf, Bechar and Beni Abbes.
In the Sahel, rising temperatures caused by climate change have also resulted in one of the deadliest rainy seasons in the region. Since the end of June, more than 550 people have died, around two million people have been affected and critical infrastructure has been destroyed in Mali, Nigeria, Chad and Niger. The rains, which are unusual in one of the driest areas on the planet, are expected to continue for weeks to come, according to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
Source: www.eldiario.es
