Flooding in Morocco

[Kenza 1]

My husband is supposed to visit Morocco on Thursday and will land in Casa but our family lives in Rabat. He told me about the flooding on the phone and just saw videos posted by my cousins on Facebook. I'm telling him to cancel his trip, have you heard anything?

[Muh and me 18]

My husband showed me pictures on one of his newspaper sites of the flooding. It don't look good. I have no clue where it was in Morocco or the extent of damage but you can probably find something on one of their newspapers online.

[Kenza 1]

It's in Rabat I told my husband to cancel his scheduled trip on Thursday because it's not safe but he won't listen to me. I'm so mad right now cuz i'm going to be worried sick!

floods

[msheesha 548]

My husband is supposed to visit Morocco on Thursday and will land in Casa but our family lives in Rabat. He told me about the flooding on the phone and just saw videos posted by my cousins on Facebook. I'm telling him to cancel his trip, have you heard anything?

My husband briefly mentioned that it was horrible rain and flooding, and that it was similar to the recent flooding (was that in the spring? I can't remember - where people had died.) He hasn't mentioned it since last week, if I'm remembering correctly. Is there still flooding, or has it settled down since last week?

[Kenza 1]

3 people died in this flooding and I have yet to talk to my dad who is there right now, but I talked to my cousins and they said that it was really bad but now most of the streets are cleared of water. So, once I talk to my dad, if he says it is safe then my husband will go, if not, he is canceling his trip. I was just having a freak-out moment, thanks everyone

[msheesha 548]

3 people died in this flooding and I have yet to talk to my dad who is there right now, but I talked to my cousins and they said that it was really bad but now most of the streets are cleared of water. So, once I talk to my dad, if he says it is safe then my husband will go, if not, he is canceling his trip. I was just having a freak-out moment, thanks everyone

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/busi...tenday/MOXX0001

Kenza,

Hope all in your family are okay. Here's a link to the weather in Morocco for the next ten days - a lot of the days look like they're going to be sunny.

[Sandrila 1]

didn't hear

[MoroccanInTexas 24]

I have a facebook video on my profile, where it shows La Gare D'Agdal by the American school . It is some how serious

[MoroccanInTexas 24]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_a9EdEWjCo...feature=related

[Kenza 1]

My family says that all the streets are cleared now of the water, so it looks like my husband will be going on Thursday after all.

[msheesha 548]

My family says that all the streets are cleared now of the water, so it looks like my husband will be going on Thursday after all.

Heavy rain disrupts traffic in Moroccan capital region

2009-09-16

Torrential rainfall interrupted busy workday traffic Tuesday, with many main roads and train routes completely cut off in Rabat.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 16/09/09

[siham Ali] Weather made for a long and treacherous commute Tuesday in Rabat.

Heavy rain disrupted traffic and damaged homes and businesses in several cities in Morocco. In Rabat on Tuesday (September 15th), commuters braved roads totally submerged in flood waters that city sewers had failed to absorb.

Some vehicles were left fully under water and the authorities had to intervene to relieve congestion along the main roads of Rabat and the neighbouring towns of Salé and Temara, where many workers and students live.

Civil protection mobilised 60 officers to deal with complaints from the public and tackle the flooding, and 22 trucks were dispatched to pump water out of affected areas.

Agdal station in Rabat was also flooded to such an extent that the movement of trains between Rabat and Casablanca was disrupted all morning. Rail activity resumed at 2pm, according to the National Railway Office.

"It was an ordeal that went on for hours," said commuter Samia Badri, who didn't get to work until 1pm.

Mohamed Belouchi, a communications officer for the National Meteorological Office, said that 33 millimetres of rain fell in Rabat and Salé between 7am and 9am on Tuesday.

Some blamed Redal, a company contracted to supply drinking water and electricity in the Rabat region, for failing to clear water mains.

Othmane Brahami, a public-sector worker who took two and a half hours to get to work in Hassan instead of the usual 20 minutes, called on officials to take control of the situation and save the capital. "All my colleagues arrived late," he said. "At some banks, work stopped since staff members were unable to get in on time. There have been huge losses, for which Redal will have to compensate us."

The Redal company assured the public that the situation was caused by a natural emergency. In a press statement, chief executive officer Jean-Michel Tiberi said that the traffic disruption witnessed in Rabat was due to "exceptional rain that within three hours equalled the amount of rain we would normally get in a month".

He said that the sewerage network could not contain such a large quantity of water and that crossroads, main roads and roads leading to schools had to be dealt with before individual problems could be addressed.

In addition to Rabat and several other regions, Casablanca was also affected by the heavy rainfall. Numerous districts in the economic capital were left under water on September 10th and 11th. Utility company Lydec was compelled to intervene in the most vulnerable locations, to prevent similar situations from reoccurring in the future.