RABAT, Morocco — Flash floods attributable to a storm in northern Morocco killed a minimum of 4 folks because the nation struggled with days of heavy rain and water releases from overfilled dams that compelled mass evacuations, native authorities mentioned Sunday.
Three youngsters — a lady and two boys aged 2 to 14 — and a person in his 30s died in a automotive that was swept away in a village close to Tétouan, about 270 kilometers (168 miles) north of the capital Rabat, in accordance with an announcement from the Inside Ministry citing native authorities. One other particular person stays lacking.
Native authorities mentioned they’ll open an investigation into what occurred.
The flash floods have been attributable to a storm system generally known as Marta, which moved into Morocco over the weekend and dumped as much as 92 millimeters (3.6 inches) of rain on some northern cities, Houssine Youabed of Morocco’s Normal Directorate of Meteorology informed The Related Press. Storm Marta additionally reached neighboring Spain and Portugal.
Days earlier, one other storm, Leonardo, hit northern Africa and the Iberian peninsula. In Morocco, it overfilled dams and rivers, damaging houses and crops, triggering minor landslides and forcing greater than 150,000 folks to evacuate.
The turbulent climate has additionally secured a minimum of a yr’s provide of ingesting water for Morocco and boosted assets for the nation’s important agricultural sector, officers mentioned, offering reduction after a yearslong drought.
