At least 37 people have lost their lives after sudden flash floods tore through Morocco’s Atlantic coastal province of Safi, following an intense spell of torrential rainfall, local authorities confirmed.
The disaster unfolded on Sunday when a powerful downpour overwhelmed the city’s drainage systems in less than an hour, turning streets into raging waterways and trapping residents in low-lying neighborhoods.
According to Morocco’s state-owned broadcaster, SNRT News, the deluge left at least 14 people injured, all of whom were taken to hospital for treatment. Two of the injured remain in critical condition in intensive care units, highlighting the severity of the incident.
Safi, a historic port city located around 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of the capital Rabat, was particularly hard hit. Videos and photographs circulating on social media captured dramatic scenes of muddy floodwaters surging through the streets, carrying cars, rubbish bins, and debris in their path.
Authorities reported that at least 70 homes and commercial premises in the city’s old quarter were inundated after just one hour of relentless rain.
In an official statement, the Safi governorate said emergency services were continuing search and rescue operations to locate any additional victims.
Officials added that precautionary measures had been put in place to secure affected districts, restore access to essential services, and provide assistance to displaced residents.
However, frustration has grown among some locals over what they perceive as delays in the response. Marouane Tamer, a Safi resident quoted by the AFP news agency, questioned why government pumping trucks were not deployed more quickly to remove the floodwater and limit the damage.
The floods also caused extensive disruption to infrastructure. Several roads leading into and out of Safi were damaged, cutting off traffic to parts of the city and surrounding areas.
Casablanca-based daily Le Matin reported that provincial road 2300, which connects Safi to the nearby town of Hrara about 20.5 kilometers (12.7 miles) to the northeast, was among the worst affected routes.
As a precaution, local education authorities suspended classes across all schools in Safi on Monday, citing safety concerns and damage to facilities.
By Sunday evening, water levels had begun to recede, exposing a thick layer of mud and debris across streets and homes. Residents were seen sifting through the sludge in an effort to recover personal belongings and assess the damage.
Meanwhile, rescue teams continued to comb affected areas as Morocco’s weather service warned that further heavy rainfall was forecast for Tuesday in several parts of the country.
The floods come against a backdrop of increasingly volatile weather patterns in Morocco. After enduring seven consecutive years of drought that severely depleted major reservoirs, the country is now experiencing intense rainfall and snowfall, particularly in the Atlas Mountains.
Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology has stated that 2024 was the hottest year on record, underscoring the growing impact of climate extremes.
Deadly flooding is not unprecedented in the country. In 2021, heavy rains claimed 24 lives when an illegal underground textile workshop in a residential building in Tangier was flooded. Earlier, in 2014 and 2015, torrential rains caused widespread flooding across multiple regions of Morocco.
Sunday’s tragedy in Safi also follows another recent disaster. Just last week, 19 people were killed and 16 others injured after the collapse of two buildings in the historic city of Fes, further compounding concerns over public safety and infrastructure resilience.
As authorities continue rescue and recovery efforts in Safi, the latest floods have renewed calls for improved urban planning, drainage systems, and disaster preparedness to protect vulnerable communities from increasingly frequent extreme weather events.