Eleven dead, nine missing in Morocco flooding

OUARZAZATE, Sept 09 (AFP): Moroccan authorities on Sunday told AFP that 11 people died and nine were missing in flooding caused by an "exceptional" climate phenomenon in southern areas.
Interior ministry spokesman Rachid Khalfi said authorities recorded an initial "toll of 11 deaths" after "heavy thunderstorms" that hit "17 prefectures and provinces in the kingdom".
Among the victims, seven died in the province of Tata, some 740 kilometres south of Rabat, and two in Errachidia, almost 500 kilometres east of Marrakesh, according to Khalfi.
He said one of the victims had foreign citizenship, without providing further details.
Khalfi also said "the volume of precipitation recorded in two days is equivalent to that which these regions normally experience during an entire year".
The floods also caused the collapse of 40 homes and damaged 93 roads, and "affected electricity, drinking water and telephone networks", he added.
Usually arid areas in southern Morocco and Algeria have been drenched in floods caused by massive rainfall since Friday, officials told AFP Sunday.