RABAT: Morocco has deployed army rescue units to help with the evacuation of thousands of people after floods triggered by torrential rains and rising river levels hit parts of the country’s northwest, state TV reported on Saturday.
Weeks of heavy rainfall, combined with water releases from a nearly full dam nearby, increased water levels in the Loukous River and flooded several neighborhoods in the city of Ksar Kbir, about 190 km (118 miles) north of the capital Rabat, a national flood follow-up committee said.
More than 20,000 people had been moved to shelter and camps by Saturday, official media reported.
Authorities set up sandbags and temporary barriers in flood-prone districts as waters began to recede.
Schools in Ksar Kbir have been ordered to remain closed until February 7 as a precaution.
