At least 37 people were killed and 14 others were hospitalized after flash floods struck Morocco’s coastal Safi province on Sunday, December 15. Local authorities, cited by the state-owned broadcaster SNRT News, reported the figures following a period of intense rainfall that affected the city of Safi, located approximately 186 miles south of the capital, Rabat.
The flooding was triggered by heavy rain that fell over a one-hour period on Sunday, according to official reports. The Safi governorate confirmed in a statement that at least 70 homes and businesses in the city’s historic old quarter were inundated. SNRT News reported that two of the 14 individuals who received hospital treatment were admitted to an intensive care unit.
In its statement, the Safi governorate said that search and rescue operations were underway and that officials had taken measures to secure affected areas and provide support to residents.
The floodwaters caused significant damage to local infrastructure, disrupting traffic on several key routes. The Casablanca-based newspaper Le Matin reported that provincial road 2300, which connects Safi to the nearby town of Hrara, was particularly impacted. In response to the flooding, the provincial directorate of national education in Safi announced the suspension of classes in all local schools on Monday.
Images circulated on social media showed water flowing through city streets, carrying vehicles and other debris. By Sunday evening, water levels had reportedly receded, allowing residents to begin recovery efforts in mud-covered areas.
Marouane Tamer, a resident quoted by the AFP news agency, questioned the timing of the official response concerning water removal from affected streets.
The country’s weather service has forecast additional heavy rain across Morocco for Tuesday. The recent precipitation follows a seven-year drought that had diminished water levels in some of the nation’s primary reservoirs. According to Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology, 2024 was the country’s hottest year on record.
Morocco has experienced deadly flooding in the past. In 2021, the state news agency reported that 24 people died after a flood in an underground textile workshop in Tangier. Widespread flooding also occurred in 2014 and 2015 following periods of torrential rain.
