At least 37 people have been killed after torrential rains triggered severe flooding in the Moroccan coastal city of Safi, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, marking one of the deadliest weather-related disasters in the country this year. Authorities said overnight downpours caused flash floods that inundated around 70 homes and businesses, swept away at least 10 vehicles and overwhelmed drainage systems. Fourteen injured people were taken to hospital, while search and rescue teams continued to assess damage in affected neighborhoods.
Local media reported that schools in Safi were closed for three days as a precaution. Heavy rainfall also caused flooding and infrastructure damage in other parts of the country, including the northern city of Tetouan and the southern mountain town of Tinghir. Safi, located on Morocco’s Atlantic coast about 320 kilometers south of Rabat, is home to more than 300,000 people and is a key center for fishing, mining and phosphate processing industries that employ thousands and are critical to the national economy.
Videos circulating on social media showed streets turned into rivers, with cars stranded or partially submerged as floodwaters surged through residential areas. The disaster comes amid growing concern over Morocco’s vulnerability to extreme weather. Years of drought linked to climate change have hardened soils, increasing the risk of sudden flooding when heavy rains fall. Last year, floods in typically arid regions of Morocco and neighboring Algeria killed nearly two dozen people. The Safi floods follow a deadly building collapse in Fez last week that killed 22 people, renewing scrutiny of urban planning, ageing infrastructure and uneven enforcement of building codes. While Morocco has invested in disaster risk reduction, experts and activists say inadequate drainage systems and infrastructure gaps especially in fast-growing cities continue to leave communities exposed.
