from HICHAM ELHARAH in Rabat, Morocco
Morocco Bureau
RABAT, (CAJ News) – TORRENTIAL downpours have left a trail of destruction in Morocco after 18 people have been confirmed dead while nine others are reportedly missing.
According to the Moroccan Interior Ministry spokesperson, Rachid El Khalfi, among the dead were foreign tourists, who were about to go to experience the north African’s desert landscapes.
Some of the victims are from neighbouring Spain, Canada and Peru respectively.
El Khalfi said the country’s flooding caused the death of the 18 people while 56 homes and more than 110 roads were destroyed as the result of the torrential floods.
He said among the locals, who have been killed were from Tata, Tiznit, Errachidia, Tinghir and Taroudant, places located in the southern parts of Morocco.
The heavy downpours did not spare Morocco’s eastern neighbour – Algeria where five are said to have been killed.
Algeria Interior Minister Brahim Merad confirmed the tragedy caused by flooding.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s weather forecasts have warned that the rains and the cold waves shall continue pounding the north African country through the coming week.
– CAJ News