At least 37 people have died after flash floods swept through Morocco’s Atlantic coastal province of Safi following a sudden burst of torrential rain, authorities said.
According to state-owned broadcaster SNRT News, local officials reported on Monday that at least 14 people were hospitalized after the flooding, including two who remain in intensive care. The flooding was triggered by just one hour of intense rainfall on Sunday.
Videos shared on social media showed muddy floodwaters rushing through the streets of Safi, carrying away cars and rubbish bins. Authorities said at least 70 homes and businesses in the city’s historic old quarter were inundated as water surged through low-lying areas.
In a statement, the Safi governorate said search and rescue operations were ongoing, while emergency measures had been implemented to secure affected neighborhoods and assist displaced residents.
Some residents questioned the response to the disaster. Marouane Tamer, a local resident quoted by AFP, asked why government trucks had not been deployed more quickly to pump water out of flooded areas.
The flooding caused extensive damage to roads, cutting off traffic on several routes into and out of the port city. Casablanca-based newspaper Le Matin reported that provincial road 2300, which connects Safi to the nearby town of Hrara, was among the hardest hit.
Local authorities also suspended classes across all schools in Safi on Monday, according to the provincial directorate of national education.
By Sunday evening, floodwaters had begun to recede, leaving behind thick mud and debris as residents returned to damaged homes and shops to recover belongings.
Search teams continued to look for possible additional victims, while Morocco’s weather service warned that more heavy rainfall was expected across the country on Tuesday.
The floods come as Morocco experiences unusually heavy rain and snowfall in the Atlas Mountains following seven years of drought that severely depleted major reservoirs. The General Directorate of Meteorology has said 2024 was the hottest year on record in the country.
Morocco has faced deadly flooding in the past. In 2021, 24 people were killed when floodwaters submerged an illegal underground textile workshop in Tangier. Torrential rains also caused widespread flooding in 2014 and 2015.
Sunday’s disaster follows another deadly incident last week in the historic city of Fes, where the collapse of two buildings killed 19 people and injured 16 others.
