Morocco: Floods - Feb 2009

Introduction

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) supports disaster response and preparedness activities in 20 countries by working closely with Humanitarian Coordinator’s (HC)/Resident Coordinator’s (RC) offices, OCHA Country Offices and Humanitarian Advisory Teams (HATs).

In brief

Programme purpose: The International Federation North Africa representation serves to support and build capacities within the National Societies of the North Africa region (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco) in order to respond to the humanitarian challenges faced in the region.

Press Release No.869

Geneva, 8 December 2009 (WMO) - The year 2009 is likely to rank in the top 10 warmest on record since the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850, according to data sources compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The global combined sea surface and land surface air temperature for 2009 (January-October) is currently estimated at 0.44°C ± 0.11°C (0.79°F ± 0.20°F) above the 1961-1990 annual average of 14.00°C/57.2°F.

Executive summary

The North Africa region, made up of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, is economically diverse with rich, resource abundant economies like Algeria and Libya and countries that are resource scarce relative to their population size such as Egypt and Morocco.

This report covers the period 01/01/2008 to 31/12/2008.

Programme purpose: The International Federation's North Africa regional representation, in line with the Global Agenda Goals of the International Federation, continues to provide essential support in facilitating the development of the five National Societies in the North Africa region. This is being achieved by building their capacities and providing technical support to the four core areas of disaster management, health and care, capacity development, and promotion of Fundamental Principles and Humanitarian Values.

Rabat - Morocco has set up programs that cost some 465 million Dirhams (58 million U.S.

Concluye en la ciudad marroquí de Tetuán el seminario 'Prevención y protección contra las inundaciones'

Los dos días de seminario sobre inundaciones han tenido por objetivo fomentar el intercambio de experiencias en materia de inundaciones en el marco del Proyecto Bilateral de Cooperación entre la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) y la Agencia de la Cuenca Hidráulica del Loukkos (ABHL).

Kénitra - Morocco has earmarked 215 million Dirhams (25.5 million Dollars) to finance an action plan aimed to fight the flood effects in the north-western Gharb region, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Aziz Akhannouch said here Wednesday.

The Minister said the government five-fold action plan to weather flood effects in the Gharb region provides mainly for protecting livestock, converting lost cultivations into spring cultivations, promoting sugar cultivations, and repairing hydro-agricultural infrastructure.

The floods that hit the Gharb region in February has destroyed 90,000 …

Rabat - Japan on Wednesday granted Morocco a total of 51 vehicles worth 71 million Moroccan Dirhams (8 million dollars) to protect the population against floods.

The vehicles will be used to construct small and medium-size dams, develop water streams and build dikes, provided for in the national program for the protection against floods, aimed to prevent human losses and large material losses during floods.

Japan's extraordinary ambassador to Morocco, Haruko Hirose said at the delivery ceremony that her country is "aware of the importance of basic infrastructure in the …

Rabat - Following the torrential rains that hit the north-western region of Gharb-Cherarda-Beni Hssen, authorities have evacuated more than 10,000 victims to 66 host centres, Interior minister, Chakib Benmoussa said.

In a meeting with Representatives of the region, Benmoussa said the authorities also distributed 800 tents, 10,000 blankets, 4,000 mattresses and an important batch of clothes, in addition to 23,000 food kits (500 tons) for 15,000 families in the region, where some 4,000 houses have been totally or partially destroyed.

He also hailed the efforts of governmental bodies …

Kenitra - An educational action plan has been set up to address the impacts of the floods that affected the north-western areas of Gharb-Cherarda-Beni Hssen on students and schools.

The plan focuses on several pedagogical, health, psychological, and environmental aspects; said director of the regional academy for education and training in the Gharb-Chrarda-Beni Hssen region, Mahfoud Bouaâlam.

Bouaâlam who was speaking in a press conference, Monday in Kenitra, stressed what he called "support pedagogy", saying that the academy plans to schedule extra hours to help …

GLIDE n=B0 FF-2008-000202-MAR

Period covered by this Ops Update: 21 December 2008 to 13 February, 2009;

Appeal target: CHF 1,618,182 (USD 1,388,055 or EUR 1,087,585);

Appeal coverage: 7%

Appeal history:

- This Emergency Appeal was launched on 7 November 2008 for CHF 1,618,182 (USD 1,388,055 or EUR 1,087,585) for six months to assist 10,000 beneficiaries.

- The coverage of the Appeal remains very low despite the continuous bad climatic conditions and the increasing needs of the poor populations.

Kénitra - A large vaccination campaign targeting some 175,000 livestock heads has been launched in flood-ravaged areas in the Gharb region (North-West), by the veterinary services of the Office Régional de Mise en Valeur du Gharb (regional office for agricultural development in the Gharb) (ORMVAG).

As part of the efforts aimed at curbing the negative effects of the recent floods on farmers and breeders in the region, this operation aims to vaccinate 150,000 sheep and 25,000 cattle, ORMVAG veterinarian, Abdelhalim Al Halek told MAP.

To help livestock breeders in the …

Rabat - The government will start to revamp infrastructures and repair flood damages in the most affected villages as soon as water flows stabilize in the rivers of Beht and Sebou, Interior minister, Chakib Benmoussa, said.

Speaking before the weekly cabinet meeting, held on Thursday, the minister said the authorities remain vigilant to ensure the safety of citizens and their property in the threatened areas, government spokesman, Khalid Naciri, said at a press briefing.

Local committees, mustering the authorities, elected officials and representatives of the civil society, will …

Rabat - Following the torrential rains that hit the northwestern region of Gharb-Cherarda-Beni Hssen, particularly the city of Sidi Slimane, authorities have evacuated and sheltered more than 7,000 victims in a short time, coordinator of the bad weather impact monitoring committee, Khalid Zerouali said.

In an interview with the first Moroccan TV "Al Oula", Zerouali, also governor, director of immigration and borders' monitoring at the ministry of Interior, said the evacuation operation has minimized human casualties thanks to coordination between the central committee and …

Rabat - All government and security departments are mobilized to assist the victims of the floods that hit the Gharb-Chrarda-Beni Hssen region (North-West), Interior minister, Chakib Benmoussa, said following the visit a ministerial delegation paid to the flood-stricken area on Sunday.Upon instructions of King Mohammed VI, the delegation visited the region to enquire about the situation of the affected population.

Rabat, Morocco_(dpa) _ Flooding sparked by heavy rains has killed 24 people and left hundreds homeless this month in northern and central Morocco, the Interior Ministry announced Monday.

More than 4,500 people have been evacuated from their homes, according to the ministry, which attributed the deaths mainly to collapsing buildings and rivers bursting their banks.

The worst hit regions included Sidi Slimane, 100 kilometres north of the capital Rabat.

Flooding continued Monday near the Mediterranean port of Saidia, where emergency workers were erecting dykes and digging canals in …

Rabat - Following the bad weather that hardly hit the northwestern region of Gharb-Cherarda-Beni Hssen, particularly the city of Sidi Slimane, Moroccan Red Crescent (CRM) provided substantial help for stricken populations.

Under instructions of its chairwoman, Princess Lalla Malika, the Red Crescent provided funds to purchase basic commodities, and sent ambulances and first-aid workers to help the sick and wounded.

It also provided 600 blankets, 300 kitchen kits and 3 tonnes of clothes.

For its part, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Solidarity launched on Saturday an operation to …

Khénifra, Feb. 7, 2009 (MAP) - Two people were killed in the rural localities of the central province of Khenifra following the torrential rains which hit the region, local authorities said.

A 70-year-old woman was killed following the collapse of the roof of her adobe house in the Itzer commune, while the body of a slaughterhouse security guard was found at the edge of Tighza river.

In the same day, sixteen adobe houses have collapsed under the weight of snow in the rural commune of Anergui in the Moroccan central province of Azilal.

Sidi Slimane, Feb 6, 2009 - In the wake of the floods that hit, Tuesday and Wednesday, several rural areas in the northern region of Sidi Slimane, the chain of support to the victims has got even stronger.

Several families, among those who lost their homes, after Oued Beht River burst its banks, found shelter in emergency housing centers set up by the local authorities, amid an unprecedented support launched by civil society.

"We have lost everything, but we are still alive," one of the victims said sadly, noting that the region has not been hit by such floods for decades.