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Join on Telegram An official delegation headed by the Wali of Casablanca-Settat region, Said Ahmidouch, visited several areas impacted by the floods in Morocco’s economic capital on Saturday. Ahmidouch has also visited the homes of families who were affected by the tragedy of the recent floods in Casablanca.
The delegation included members of Lydic, the company managing the city’s sanitation, and members of the city council. The officials paid a visit to multiple districts, including Casablanca-Anfa, Sidi Bernoussi, and Moulay Rachid.
The committee has also visited heavily-impacted residential areas in the old Medina and Lahraouiyine.
Local authorities have relocated many inhabitants of these neighborhoods to a school building since their homes are on the alert for collapse due to the weakened infrastructure. The evacuation comes after the collapse of three buildings in Casablanca during the past week. The tragic events have now claimed four lives and caused several injuries.
During the visit, Lydec officials provided explanations on the current situation and the urgent measures put in place to limit the impact of torrential rains. These include the rainwater storage gallery at Hay Sadri, where work is progressing according to the pre-established schedule.
The project’s objective is to protect the district from flooding by storing up to 14,000 m³ of water during rainy periods. The head of Lydec’s projects, Youssef Tazi explained that the construction will be more than 1.3 km long, with a depth ranging from 30 to 40 meters. He added that the investment will cost (MAD)182 million.
The visit follows an emergency meeting held Friday at the wilaya of Casablanca-Settat. The meeting examined the impact of the heavy downpour that the city has experienced and the future measures to prevent further damage.
The meeting participants emphasized the need to take practical and immediate measures to handle the city’s saturation through continuous maintenance of water drainage channels and improvement of traffic and transport conditions. In addition to mobilizing necessary resources to protect inhabitants of buildings that are threatened to collapse.
While Casablanca goes through an unprecedented crisis, local authorities have been slow to react to citizens’ concerns and have resorted to defensive statements that underline their lack of responsible accountability.
