The North African country, and its Algerian neighbour, receive rainfall volumes that in some places are equivalent to that of “an entire year”, according to the authorities.
Torrential rains and floods have left at least eleven people dead and nine missing since Friday in southern Morocco, according to the latest report on Sunday evening, September 8. 17 regions and provinces have been affected, including some that are usually semi-arid. Rachi El Khalfi, the spokesman for the Moroccan Interior Ministry, said that these violent storms and floods have caused the death of seven people in the province of Tata, 740 km southeast of Rabat, two in Errachidia and two in Tiznit in the southwest of the country.
The spokesman also announced the collapse of 40 houses nationwide and damage to 93 roads as well as water, electricity and telecommunications networks.The volume of precipitation recorded in two days is equivalent to that which these regions normally experience during an entire year.” he said.
Since Friday, the south and south-east of Morocco as well as certain areas of the Atlas have been affected.by an extremely unstable tropical air mass, due to the exceptional position of the Intertropical Front (ITF) over the south of the country“, explained the spokesperson for the General Directorate of Meteorology in Morocco, Lhoussaine Youabd.Moist tropical air masses moved north, meeting cold air masses, resulting in the formation of unstable and violent clouds” he stressed.
Floods after six years of drought
These unusual conditions for these regions have caused “heavy thunderstorms and significant rainfall, leading to river flooding” and floods, the official continued. In the last 24 hours, the region of Ouarzazate, 500 kilometers south of Rabat, received 47 mm of water in three hours, and up to 170 mm in Tagounite not far from the Algerian border, according to Moroccan weather services.
A climatic phenomenon described as“exceptional” which comes as Morocco is experiencing severe water stress after six consecutive years of drought. A situation which had reduced the level of dams to less than 28% at the end of August.
Neighbouring Algeria was also hit and two people were being sought after they were swept away by the floods on Sunday evening. A similarly violent rain front has hit desert areas such as the Sahara, according to images posted on social media. According to the Algerian Civil Protection, two people swept away by the floods are being sought in Tamanrasset, about 2,000 km south of Algiers and in El Bayadh, 600 km southwest of Algiers. The state agency has also carried out several rescues of families trapped by flooded rivers in towns in the affected regions.
