Flash floods have killed at least 37 people in Morocco’s coastal Safi region after torrential rain lashed the area, state-owned television reports.
In the port city of Safi, cars and piles of rubbish were swept through the streets as floodwaters surged on Sunday. Local authorities say dozens of people are being treated in hospital, while at least 70 homes in the old city centre have been inundated.
Access to and from Safi has been cut off on several roads because of damage and debris, according to local reports.
Residents described scenes of devastation. “It’s a dark day,” one survivor said. “I’ve lost all my clothes. Only my neighbour gave me something to cover myself. I have nothing left. I’ve lost everything.” Another resident said authorities needed to deploy government trucks urgently to pump out the floodwater.
Moroccan officials say search and rescue operations are still under way as teams look for possible survivors.
Experts say the climate crisis is partly behind the increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather affecting the North African state. Morocco has endured seven consecutive years of drought that have severely depleted reservoirs, and last year was officially the hottest on record.
The country’s weather service has warned that heavy rain is expected to continue on Tuesday, along with snowfall across the Atlas Mountains.
