Morocco’s Safi counts the cost in aftermath of deadly flash floods

Search and rescue operations were continuing in the Moroccan town of Safi after flash floods killed at least 37 people.

Drought-hit Morocco often experiences severe weather, but Sunday’s flooding in the coastal town is the deadliest such disaster in at least a decade.

A muddy torrent swept cars and bins from the streets of Safi, which lies roughly 300km (190 miles) south of the capital, Rabat.

The General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM), Morocco’s national weather forecaster, has warned that further thunderstorms are likely over the next three days in several regions, including Safi.

Survivors are still receiving treatment at the town’s Mohammed V Hospital, with two remaining in intensive care, according to local officials.

Schools have been closed as mud and debris continue to clog the streets.

Safi is known as a centre for arts and crafts, particularly terracotta pottery, and its streets were left strewn with shattered bowls and tajines.

The Moroccan prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to determine whether anyone bears responsibility for the scale of the damage, according to the official news agency MAP.

Addressing parliament, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said: “Thirty-seven millimetres (1.5 inches) of rain fell in a short period, hitting the historic Bab Chabaa district of Safi, which is crossed by a river, and causing the deaths of numerous merchants and workers.”

As the waters receded, a landscape of mud and overturned cars was revealed. Civil Protection units and residents soon started clearing the debris.

Morocco is enduring its seventh consecutive year of severe drought, and last year was the North African kingdom’s hottest on record.

Climate change has made storms more intense, as a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and warmer seas can spur weather systems.