Agencies-Gaza post
1,000 families evacuated by wildfires in Morocco
A man died in violent fires that destroyed isolated forest regions in northern Morocco since Wednesday, leading to the evacuation of about 1,000 families, according to authorities.
A statement issued by the authorities said “the body of a man with multiple burns has been found” in one of the fires in the Al-Arish area.
Over 1,600 hectares of forest were destroyed in Arash, Wozan, Tetuan, and Taza States in the northwest, according to a non-final report.
The fast spread of the flames fuelled by the “east”, hot winds from the desert, also forced 1100 families to evacuate some fifteen (villages) in the affected areas of Arash. Some 645 citizens were evacuated in Taza and Tetouan States.
Some seventy houses burned in Tetouan near the port of Tangier, and some 100 cattle died.
In response to these fires, hundreds of civil protection agents, water, forests, Royal Armed Forces, and the Royal Gendarmerie were mobilized, in addition to the Royal Gendarmerie’s Turbo Trach aircraft. Volunteers and local authorities helped stop the spread of the fire. Reinforcements were also sent to the venue.
Local authorities said that one fire had been put out, while another was under control in Arash State.
Morocco had a heatwave for several days, with temperatures approaching 45 degrees Celsius at a time when the country was undergoing exceptional drought and water stress.
On the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar, fires are burning in southern Europe, from Portugal to Greece through Spain and France.
Agencies-Gaza post
