RABAT, Morocco — Morocco rolled out a nationwide emergency aid operation Tuesday to help about 73,000 households across 28 provinces after flash floods killed at least 37 people in the Atlantic coastal city of Safi, officials said. The drive aims to rush food supplies and blankets to vulnerable communities as a cold wave brings heavy rain and snow to parts of the country, Dec. 16, 2025.
The Interior Ministry said the sudden flooding inundated about 70 homes and businesses and swept away vehicles; The Associated Press reported that 14 people were hospitalized after the deluge.
“This is a disaster, I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime,” Khalil Sidki, 67, a Safi resident and member of the local branch of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, told The Associated Press. He said water rose rapidly in a commercial area, trapping some people inside shops as floodwaters climbed.
Meteorologist Houcine Youabid, speaking to the AP, described Safi’s rainfall total as “normal” for the region and said infrastructure issues could have combined with the downpours to worsen flooding. Moroccan authorities said they opened an investigation into what caused the disaster.
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The emergency assistance is being organized under royal instructions through the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, according to a Medias24 report citing the foundation’s statement. The foundation said it is coordinating closely with the Interior Ministry to deploy staff and logistics and to reach isolated communities, including remote mountain villages.
Officials said the relief packages include essential food supplies and blankets. The foundation also said teams including medical personnel and social workers, supported by local authorities and security services, will help deliver aid in hard-to-reach areas and during severe weather conditions.
A Reuters report on the nationwide winter response said the operation targets provinces facing freezing temperatures, snow and heavy rain. The report also said Moroccan authorities issued a red alert for snowfall up to 80 centimeters (31 inches) in the High Atlas mountains, along with an orange alert for rainfall up to 50 millimeters across much of central and northern Morocco.
Weather alerts widen the emergency footprint
Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology forecast a multi-day stretch of hazardous conditions, including heavy snow, thunderstorms and strong winds, with the most severe impacts expected in higher elevations. A meteorological alert summary published by Le Desk said snowfall totals of 50 to 80 centimeters were expected above 1,800 meters in several provinces, and that some areas could also see intense rain and hail.
Reuters reported that in the mountains near Ouarzazate, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) southeast of the capital, snow depth had reached about 50 centimeters (20 inches) and overnight temperatures had fallen below freezing. The same report noted Morocco is experiencing heavy rain and snowfall after seven years of drought that depleted some main reservoirs.
Continuity: recent disasters and longer-term preparedness
The current relief push follows a series of recent disasters that have tested Morocco’s emergency systems and local infrastructure. In October 2024, Morocco announced a 2.5 billion dirham ($260 million) flood relief plan after deadly flooding in the country’s southeast, including reconstruction aid and infrastructure upgrades, according to a Reuters report on the government’s flood-relief package.
In May 2025, Morocco said it planned to spend 7 billion dirhams ($760 million) on nationwide storage platforms and emergency supplies to respond faster to future disasters, Reuters reported in an earlier story about Morocco’s disaster-response stockpiling project.
Morocco’s winter aid efforts also have precedent. The Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity has previously run “Grand Froid” operations to support rural populations exposed to severe cold and snowfall; a foundation summary of a past campaign is available in this 2023 overview of a prior “Grand Froid” operation.
For now, officials say the immediate priority is getting food and blankets to households most exposed to the cold wave and cut off by snow or damaged roads, while communities in Safi continue to recover from the flooding and assess what failed during the storm.
