Four dead, 14 missing in Morocco flooding

OUARZAZATE, Morocco: Moroccan authorities on Sunday said four people died and 14 were missing in flooding caused by an “exceptional” climate phenomenon in southern areas.

“Four people have died and 14 have gone missing” since heavy rains began on Friday in the province of Tata, some 740-kms south of Rabat, a local official told AFP, saying the toll could potentially rise.

“Eight houses were washed away by floods in some valleys” near Tamanart, a rural area in the Tata region, said the official, who did not wish to be named.

Usually arid areas in southern Morocco and Algeria have been drenched in floods caused by massive rainfall since Friday, officials told AFP Sunday.