Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – After severe floods ravaged Valencia and its surrounding areas in late October, Morocco sent significant aid to assist in the cleanup and recovery efforts.
Around 36 Moroccan specialized trucks and 120 personnel, including operators, translators, and coordinators, were deployed across 15 municipalities in Spain following Royal directives.
Mohammed Alouch, one of the workers from Rabat, expressed pride in contributing to Spain’s recovery. “We came here to help, not to rest. This is our way of showing solidarity, just as Spain supported Morocco after the earthquake in Al Haouz in September 2023,” El Diario quoted him as saying.
The Moroccan team consists of civil personnel from various private and subcontracted companies across Moroccan cities like Tangier, Agadir, Casablanca, Tetouan, and Fez who worked in close collaboration with Spain’s Civil Protection Commission. The group was coordinated jointly by Spain’s Ministry of Interior and Morocco’s Colonel Jamaleddin Elmegnouni.
According to Gonzalo Sanz Ruiz, a coordinator from Spain’s Civil Protection team, Moroccan operators have removed enough sludge and debris to fill up to 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools. “The scale of Morocco’s deployment and contribution is unprecedented in our recent history,” Sanz Ruiz stated, Spanish outlet El Diario reported.
The Moroccan teams have been working tirelessly to clear flooded garages, unclog sewer systems, and pump out stagnant water in affected towns such as Catarroja, Benetusser, Paiporta, Sedavi, and Algemesi.
In Paiporta, for example, Moroccan operators used to pump out water and remove mud that blocked drainage systems.
The outlet added that some Moroccan operators have reunited with members of Spain’s Military Emergency Unit, who had worked alongside them during relief efforts in Al Haouz region following the September earthquake in 2023.
Their mission was initially planned to conclude before Christmas but King Mohammed VI extended it until January 10 to allow the teams to address ongoing needs in affected areas.
.
