Summary of major revisions made to emergency plan of action:
The initial DREF was based upon flooding resulting from violent storms starting on 24 November 2014 that caused widespread flooding in a large part of the south of the country, including flooding several dry river beds. This event was exacerbated by a cold wave that struck the affected communities from the first week of December and the third strike came on the 5th of December when Agadir, Sidi Ifni, Tiznit and Bouizakarne provinces were affected by further flooding that left them isolated and inaccessible with a minimum of 3,000 families left in need. A mutli-agency assessment identified reestablishing access and food security for the affected communities as the top priorities.
Responding to this assessment and in close coordination with the government and civil society actors MRCS refocused its efforts and resources to life saving food distribution for the affected populations.
A. Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
Violent storms starting on 24 November 2014 caused widespread flooding in a large part of the south of the country, including flooding several dry river beds. The storms swept across the region over two weeks with the National Meteorology Office issuing awareness bulletins that remained in effect until the second week of December. More than 120 mm of rain fell in 24 hours along the Atlantic coast, Tangier in Sidi Ifni, the chain of the High and Anti Atlas mountains, the center and east of the country. A severe drop in temperatures with snowfall in altitudes from 1,700 meters further complicated the situation.
A Moroccan Red Crescent assessment indicates that in total 47 people have died, two people remain missing and 1,093 people were rescued - most of them in Guelmim Smara and Souss Massa Draa.. 1,690 people living in dangerous areas were evacuated as a precautionary measure, especially in the Territories of Guelmim (650 people) Thousands of adobe (mud brick) houses have been destroyed and more than 100 roads were cut by the flood waters, including six national highways. A report issued by the Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics indicated approximately1,000 bridges (of the national total of 7,800 bridges) were damaged by the flood waters. Nine national roads (of a total of 14) and 22 regional ways (of a total of 36) and 35 regional roads (of a total of 51).
A cold wave in the first week of December complicated the situation and affected rural communities in the Ouarzazate region. The situation remains critical in all these provinces due to the high level of the rivers and wadis, dams and the overflowing of the dams. The fact that the traditional adobe houses are fragile and that access to remote communities remains difficult further exacerbates the situation and the risks that affected communities continue to face.
A second round of flooding occurred in the region of Agadir, Sidi Ifni, Inazgan, in the south west of Morocco, requiring MRCS to review their original operational plan and to focus on meeting the life-saving needs of the additional populations affected by this second round of flooding.
Chtouka Ait Baha (491) ,Taroudant (164) and Smara (157).