Ksar El Kébir: Joint Mobilization of the Royal Armed Forces and Civil Authorities in Response to Flood Risks
The Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and civil authorities, including provincial and local authorities, Civil Protection services, and other stakeholders, are jointly mobilizing to address the risks linked to the rising waters of the Loukkos River, which have caused partial flooding in several neighborhoods of the city of Ksar El Kébir.
In close coordination, human resources from the various intervening bodies have launched field operations aimed at rescuing citizens surrounded by floodwaters, evacuating and sheltering residents from affected homes, continuing the installation of sand barriers to protect threatened neighborhoods, and setting up accommodation centers.
In a statement to MAP, Colonel Major Hicham El Jiraoui, Delegate Arms Commander of the Tangier-Larache area, stressed that, in accordance with the High Instructions of His Majesty the King, Supreme Commander and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, several units specialized in rescue operations, assistance, logistical support, and medical intervention have been mobilized to provide aid and support to affected populations, in coordination with all local authorities present on the ground.
In Ksar El Kébir, intense mobilization of machinery and heavy trucks capable of moving through flooded streets has been observed, while Civil Protection boats have increased their rotations to evacuate as many citizens as possible trapped by the rising waters in affected neighborhoods.
In the Haoumat Taoud neighborhood, south of Ksar El Kébir, MAP observed the intervention of a Civil Protection unit moving between houses and narrow streets with great professionalism and a strong humanitarian spirit, evacuating citizens surrounded by water along with their belongings to safe areas.
In this regard, Lieutenant Colonel Driss Loabab, Provincial Commander of Civil Protection, stated in a similar declaration that, as part of ongoing field operations in Ksar El Kébir following the rise of the Loukkos River, Civil Protection teams carried out evacuation operations in several residential neighborhoods, transporting affected residents and their belongings using flat-bottomed metal boats in order to reach difficult-to-access areas and ensure the safety of citizens in this exceptional situation.
Sustained efforts by all intervening parties had, by Friday evening, enabled the evacuation of more than 20,000 people, said Abdelaziz El Ferkli, Head of the Economic Affairs and Coordination Department at the Prefecture of the Province of Larache and representative of the Provincial Monitoring Commission.
The official specified that following the floods in Ksar El Kébir, caused by heavy rainfall that led to the rise of the Loukkos River, public authorities had taken all proactive measures upon receiving the alert bulletin.
In this context, he affirmed that the Provincial Monitoring Commission, chaired by the Governor of the Province of Larache, carried out a series of field interventions, notably visits to several flooded areas, the evacuation of residents, and the provision of accommodation centers.
In statements collected on site by MAP, several citizens praised the continuous mobilization of all concerned authorities, which deployed their human and logistical resources to manage this exceptional climatic situation, unprecedented in the city for nearly 35 years.
Editorial team/le7tv (with MAP)
