Oued El Makhazine Dam 64% Full Amid Northern Flood Fears

Flood fears have resurfaced in the Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma region of northern Morocco, as forecasters expect significant rainfall, estimated at several dozen millimeters, over the coming days. Preventive measures are already underway to address potential risks, Hespress reported, citing informed sources. Directives have been sent to local authorities and elected councils to act ahead of the season's first rainfall.

The same sources denied circulating reports of a major release of water from the Oued El Makhazine and Dar Khrofa dam reservoirs ahead of the rainy season. The Oued El Makhazine dam releases a normal daily flow of around 400,000 cubic meters, used to generate electricity at the facility near the city of Ksar El Kebir, as well as to meet the needs of the irrigated perimeter covering thousands of hectares in the Loukkos basin.

The Oued El Makhazine dam's fill rate currently stands at 64%, compared with 71% during the same period last year, a situation the sources described as "not a cause for concern" that gives dam management a comfortable margin, making a preventive water release "impossible under the current conditions and the weather forecasts for the coming days."

These fears follow the unprecedented floods that hit Larache province, and particularly the city of Ksar El Kebir, which required the complete evacuation of the city's population to neighboring towns and areas over fears of catastrophic scenarios, during a crisis that weighed on the region and the country for weeks.

These moves are part of a broader national water security and flood-prevention strategy unveiled by the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, before parliament. It rests on five pillars, including a national atlas of flood-threatened areas and stronger monitoring and early-warning systems, alongside 27 completed flood-protection projects and 21 more underway across several regions, according to Le360. The plan comes as Morocco goes through seven consecutive years of drought, which explains why authorities are trying to balance mobilizing water resources with guarding against flood risks.

Authorities had also recently issued storm and cold-weather warnings for several provinces of the Kingdom, another sign that the country is entering the rainy season.