UPDATE - Death toll from floods rises to 21 in western Morocco

Flash floods triggered by intense thunderstorms swept through homes and shops, injuring at least 20 others

UPDATES NUMBER OF DEATHS, REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Khalid Mejdoub, Mohammad Sio, and Betul Yilmaz

RABAT, Morocco/ISTANBUL (AA) - The death toll from flash floods in the western city of Safi rose to 21, Moroccan authorities announced.

The Safi Governorate said in a statement late Sunday that 21 people lost their lives due to “exceptional thunderstorms that hit the city on Sunday evening, triggering massive floods within a short period of time.”

Search and rescue operations are ongoing, and necessary measures have been taken to secure the affected areas and provide support to residents, it added.

On Sunday, Morocco’s state news agency, citing local officials, reported that exceptionally heavy rainfall over a short period – about an hour – unleashed powerful floodwaters that inundated homes and businesses across parts of the city. The flooding followed intense thunderstorm activity.

Officials said 20 others were injured and are receiving medical treatment at the government-run Mohammed V Hospital in Safi.

Kaynak:

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