Morocco's Government Rolls Out Major Aid & Support Program for Communities Affected by Extreme Weather

Rabat, February 13 (TNA) Following the exceptionally severe weather conditions that have affected the Kingdom over the past two months, particularly in the Gharb plain and Loukkos, King Mohammed VI has issued 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, 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:

- 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.

- Aid in kind and for the reinforcement of emergency interventions on the ground, to meet the essential and immediate needs of the population, amounting to MAD 225 million.

- Aid for farmers and livestock breeders amounting to MAD 300 million.

- 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.

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, according to the same source.