Ksar El Kébir: Sustained Efforts to Evacuate Residents to Safe Areas Amid Flood Risks

To support this operation, local authorities are deploying significant efforts to assist residents in areas exposed to flood risks and facilitate their relocation to safe locations, either within the city or outside it.

In this context, more than 70 buses have been mobilized to transport citizens wishing to travel to nearby cities, pending an improvement in these exceptional weather conditions. The situation has heavily disrupted daily life in Ksar El Kébir, particularly due to the flooding of several neighborhoods and disturbances affecting electricity and drinking water distribution networks.

In statements to MAP, several residents said the initiative came at the right time to meet the urgent needs of many families, who have taken refuge with relatives or acquaintances in neighboring cities. They stressed that the operation would allow them to move to safe areas under good conditions, especially as weather alert bulletins warn of continued climatic disturbances in the coming week. Traffic to and from Ksar El Kébir has also been affected on several road axes due to rising water levels.

In this regard, the Ministry of Equipment and Water announced on Saturday the temporary suspension of traffic on National Road No. 1 linking Souk Larbaa and Ksar El Kébir, at the southern entrance to the city, as well as on Regional Road No. 410, the expressway connecting Larache and Ksar El Kébir, at the western entrance to the city. According to the ministry, this temporary interruption was caused by the rise in the water level of the Oued Loukkos, which led to the submersion of the roadways concerned.

Meanwhile, the municipality of Ksar El Kébir announced on Saturday that, as part of the exceptional measures taken to deal with the situation facing the city due to flooding and rising water levels, the relevant authorities have coordinated with the National Railways Office to ensure the transport of citizens to safe cities. The municipality stressed that this measure aims to preserve public safety and facilitate movement under these exceptional circumstances.

As a result, several families have taken advantage of this opportunity to move to neighboring cities as a precaution, while awaiting the passage of the climatic disturbances expected next week, which could bring significant water inflows into the Oued Loukkos and cause flooding in several areas of Ksar El Kébir.

On Sunday, the General Directorate of Meteorology issued an updated weather alert warning of heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms expected from Monday until midday Tuesday, with accumulations ranging between 50 and 80 millimeters in several provinces within the Loukkos river basin, notably Ouezzane, Chefchaouen and Larache. This raises concerns over a further rise in the river’s water level, particularly as the Oued El Makhazine dam is currently operating at full capacity.

Editorial team/le7tv