Rabat, Morocco — More than 150,000 residents have left their homes in northern Morocco since February 2, when a weather system dubbed Storm Marta sent rivers over their banks and forced emergency releases from overfilled dams, authorities confirmed on February 8. Four people – among them a two-year-old child – lost their lives, while at least one person remains missing.
The Loukkos River burst its banks near Ksar El Kebir and nearby villages, turning low — lying roads into fast-moving waterways and prompting pre-dawn evacuations via mosque loudspeakers, local residents.
Near the city of Kenitra, about 50 kilometres north of Rabat, officials have pitched rows of blue tents to provide emergency shelter for nearly 40,000 evacuees. Government statement indicates that mobile clinics, food rations, mattresses and veterinary teams have been deployed, while civil-protection crews continue air-lifting stranded families from rooftops.
In the tent settlement, 67-year-old Kasia El Selami from Ouled Ameur described fleeing with her children after the mosques’ call to prayer became an alert to leave at once.
“We felt immense fear, especially for our children,” she told field staff.
A similar sense of uncertainty grips many of the displaced; a 60-year-old man, Ali Al Aouni, said his eldest son stayed behind to watch over the family home even as water reached “one and a half metres high. ” Forecast models suggest no immediate end to the downpour, and authorities have not set a date for allowing residents to return.
Further updates are expected as the weather front develops and dam operators continue controlled water releases.
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Source: Original reporting based on Moroccan government communiqués, on-the-ground testimony and confirmed data from France 24, the Associated Press, RFI and Al-Monitor reports dated February 8, 2026.
*Additional reporting by ImNews | Sources consulted: 5*
