SAFI: A flash flood in a Moroccan coastal town killed at least 37, local officials said on Monday, as search and rescue operations continued. Drought-hit Morocco often faces severe weather, but Sunday's flooding in Safi is already the deadliest such disaster in at least a decade. A muddy torrent swept cars and bins from the streets in Safi, which is around 300 kilometres (186 miles) south of the capital Rabat.
Fourteen survivors are being treated at Mohammed V hospital in the town, and two of them are in intensive care, according to local officials updating the overnight toll. Schools have been closed for at least three days and mud and debris clog the streets. At least 70 homes and businesses in the historic town centre were flooded and 55-year-old shopkeeper Abdelkader Mezraoui said the retail economy had been devastated. As the waters receded, they left behind a landscape of mud and overturned cars. Onlookers watched Civil Protection units and local residents working to clear debris. — AFP
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