Up to 7 Dead in Morocco Storms
Foul weather in Morocco has killed up to seven people a week after a previous storm left 36 dead, media reports said on Monday.
Storms again lashed the south of the kingdom, with the resort of Agadir experiencing the equivalent of an entire year's rainfall -- more than 250 millimeters (10 inches) -- between Friday and Sunday.
The bad weather, which finally eased overnight, led to many rivers bursting their banks and causing widespread damage, especially in the Guelmim region 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Agadir, which has been declared a disaster area.
No official death toll has yet been released.
"Another catastrophe: floods kill seven," headlined the Arabic-language daily Al-Massae.
Both it and At-Tajdid, which cites "anonymous official sources", said two college students drowned on Friday in the Azilal region of the Anti-Atlas mountain range, and a youth was swept away southwest of Marrakesh.
Al-Massae and Akhbar al-Youm also reported a woman and her child killed when a house collapsed near Figuig.
The latter paper gave a death toll of at least five.
Al-Ittihad Al Ichtiraki said material damage ran into "billions" of dirhams (hundreds of millions of euros, dollars).
Hundreds of homes were destroyed, roads cut and power networks damaged, the authorities said, adding that at least 250 villages have been cut off.
In the Guelmim region on the edge of the Sahara desert, that also bore the brunt of last week's deadly storms, whole districts were under water after dikes were breached.
Local authorities cited by the MAP news agency said several hundred people were being looked after because their homes were affected.
They said priority in Guelmim was being given to reopening roads, restoring power and providing drinking water and health services.
Source: Agence France Presse
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