Inondations au Maroc: plus de 100.000 personnes évacuées de manière préventive, les autorités en état d'alerte
In northern Morocco, flooding triggered by heavy rains has forced authorities to evacuate tens of thousands of residents as a precaution. The city of Ksar El-Kebir has been 85% emptied. Heavy rainfall is still forecast for some provinces on Thursday, February 4th.
Heavy rain, thunderstorms, snowfall above 1,500 kilometers, strong winds, and cold temperatures: the forecast issued by the General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM) on Wednesday, February 4, does not foresee an end to the weather disturbances. The provinces of Chefchaouen and Tetouan have been placed under an "extreme risk" alert by the DGM, while the north of the country has been placed under a "significant risk" alert.
So far, Ksar El-Kébir , the most populated city in the province of Larache, about 100 kilometers south of Tangier, has been the hardest hit by the floods. Residents continued to be evacuated on Wednesday as a precaution, "depending on the areas affected and the evolving situation on the ground ," the Interior Ministry told AFP.
Impressive images of Ksar El-Kébir transformed into a ghost town are circulating on social media. The town has been emptied of 85% of its inhabitants, according to the media outlet Yabiladi.com , citing the Maghreb Arab Press Agency (MAP).
Residents have been rehoused by relatives or in temporary camps. One such camp, in Bouchouika, was set up on a football field in the town. On social media, residents are offering to take in those affected by the disaster or those who have had to evacuate, even leaving their phone numbers.
In total, more than 108,000 people have been evacuated in the north of the country, according to the Moroccan newspaper L'Opinion , citing the Maghreb Arab Press Agency (MAP). In the province of Larache, more than 81,000 people have been evacuated, nearly 10,000 in Sidi Kacem, nearly 3,000 in Sidi Slimane, and more than 14,000 in Kenitra, according to MAP figures.
The Ministry of the Interior requested on Wednesday afternoon that several municipalities in the province of Al Hoceima be evacuated, in the face of "the increase in risk indicators and the possibility of a rapid and sudden deterioration of the situation" , reports Medias24 .
The Royal Armed Forces (FAR) supported evacuation and rescue operations, on the instructions of King Mohammed VI, according to a FAR statement cited by Médias24 . Heavy rainfall that has affected northern Morocco since January 28th has overwhelmed the water storage capacity of some dams and caused wadis to overflow. The Oued El Makhazine dam, south of Tangier, was at 141% of its normal level as of Wednesday, Médias24 reported.
Extreme weather conditions in the Strait of Gibraltar have also prompted the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) to suspend maritime links between Algeciras and Tarifa in Spain, towards Tangier, our colleagues report.
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