Heaviest storms in decades kill 32 in Morocco

At least 32 people have died in the heaviest storms to hit southern Morocco in decades with 25cm of rain falling in just a few hours.

The storms, which have been pounding the region since Saturday, caused flash floods in much of the south at the foot of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, but a weather alert was finally called off yesterday afternoon.

Rescue teams recovered 11 bodies from high waters near Talmaadart river in the Guelmim region, which bore the brunt of the storms, adding to an earlier death tally of 17.

Local authorities said two other people were missing in the same region, while at least five in total were unaccounted for in the stricken areas, including Ouarzazate and Marrakesh, where cars and trees were swept away by the raging waters.
A girl of nine was among six people swept away by the bulging Tamsourt River on the edge of the Sahara desert.

“We haven’t seen anything like this since the floods of 1986... People were very scared,” resident Mustapha al-Gemrani said.

The authorities have set up crisis cells and the royal palace said it would cover the expenses of victims’ funerals and medical treatment for the injured.