Morocco declares disaster areas after extreme weather, launches €300m aid programme
Following the exceptionally severe weather conditions that have affected the Kingdom of Morocco over the past two months, particularly in the Gharb plain and Loukkos, His Majesty the King Mohammed VI, has issued his Instructions to the government to roll out a major aid and support program for affected families and populations, and to take the regulatory measures required in such circumstances.
In this regard, the Head of Government has issued a decree declaring this extreme weather a catastrophic event and the most affected communes of the four provinces (Larache, Kénitra, Sidi Kacem and Sidi Slimane) disaster areas, a press release from the office of the Head of Government says.
According to the same source, the government has set up an aid and support
program with a projected budget of three billion dirhams (300 million euros), based on a careful and in-depth assessment of the situation on the ground and a precise evaluation of the economic and social repercussions of these extreme weather conditions.
It focuses on the following axes :
- -Aid for rehousing, loss of income, rehabilitation of affected homes and small businesses, and reconstruction of collapsed homes, for a total amount of MAD 775 million (77,5 million euros)
- Aid in kind and for the reinforcement of emergency interventions on the ground, in order to meet the essential and immediate needs of the population, amounting to MAD 225 million (22,5 million euros).
- Aid for farmers and livestock breeders amounting to 30 million euros.
- Investments for the rehabilitation of roads and hydro-agricultural infrastructure, as well as for the rehabilitation of basic networks, amounting to MAD 1.7 billion (170 million euros) King Mohammed VI has also issued Instructions to the government to ensure that this program is conducted in an exemplary, swift, and responsible manner, enabling citizens in the affected areas to return to normal living conditions as soon as possible, the press release points out.
The exceptional weather conditions experienced by the Kingdom caused flooding of over 110,000 hectares and led to the displacement of nearly 188,000 people in the provinces of Larache, Kenitra, Sidi Kacem, and Sidi Slimane.
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