At Least 32 Dead in Moroccan Floods

At least 32 people feared dead after severe floods in Morocco; the bodies of 24 people have been recovered.

MOSCOW, November 24 (Sputnik) — At least 32 people have died in severe floods, triggered by heavy rainfall in southern Morocco, Reuters reports, citing local authorities.

The bodies of 24 people have been recovered near the southern city of Guelmim, according to the Associated Press. Over 200 people have been rescued, including two French nationals.

“We have lost everything, everything. Now our families will sleep in the cold,” lamented a woman from the Errachidia region, as quoted by Reuters. “Their (the authorities') previous programs to restore our mud houses did not save us, our houses were just swept away,” she told state television channel 2M. Approximately 60 houses have reportedly been destroyed in the area.

“We haven’t seen anything like this since the floods of 1986 … People were very scared,” Mustapha al-Gemrani, a local, told AFP by telephone. “But now the skies have cleared and helicopters are overhead,” he added.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has ordered authorities to take “all necessary emergency measures to help and support victims of the floods,” according to a statement issued by the palace, as quoted by Reuters. He also promised the royal palace will pay for the medical treatment of those injured and cover funeral expenses.

The authorities had reportedly been informed that heavy rainfall would cause severe floods, but ignored the warning, according to Al Jazeera. “It was forecast that more than 100 millimeters of rain would fall, but nothing has been done. They just waited for the catastrophe to unfold,” Brahim Boulid, a journalist reporting from Guelmim, told the news channel.

Floods are a common occurrence in Morocco at this time of the year.