Morocco to Spend $330 Million on Flood Relief and Infrastructure Upgrades

Rabat: Morocco plans to allocate 3 billion dirhams ($330 million) to upgrade infrastructure and support residents, farmers, and businesses affected by severe flooding in the country’s northwestern plains, the prime minister’s office said on Thursday.

Weeks of torrential rainfall, combined with water releases from overflowing dams, have inundated villages, vast stretches of farmland, and parts of the city of Ksar El Kebir in the northwest of the North African nation.

According to official figures, the floods have displaced approximately 188,000 people and submerged around 110,000 hectares of agricultural land. The government has declared the hardest-hit municipalities disaster areas, the prime minister’s office said in a statement carried by state media.

Of the total relief package, 1.7 billion dirhams will be directed toward repairing essential infrastructure, including roads and hydro-agricultural networks. The remaining funds will cover rehousing efforts, reconstruction of destroyed homes, and financial support for small businesses, farmers, and livestock breeders.

Moroccan authorities, supported by the army, have established emergency camps for evacuees and deployed helicopters and rescue boats to assist affected communities, state television reported.

Access to the largely deserted city of Ksar El Kebir remains restricted after the Loukkos River burst its banks earlier this month, flooding several neighborhoods.

Water Minister Nizar Baraka said the Oued Makhazine Dam had reached 160 percent of its capacity and was forced to gradually release water downstream due to exceptional inflows. He noted that rainfall this winter was 35 percent above the average recorded since the 1990s and three times higher than last year’s levels.

Snow cover in the Atlas and Rif mountains peaked at a record 55,495 square kilometers this winter before receding to 23,186 square kilometers. Melting snow is expected to further replenish reservoirs, he added.

Morocco’s national dam-filling rate has surged to nearly 70 percent, up from 27 percent a year earlier. Several major dams are now being partially emptied to absorb anticipated new inflows, authorities said.