Morocco deploys army to help evacuate thousands after floods
Morocco has deployed army rescue units to help with the evacuation of thousands of people after floods triggered by torrential rains and rising river levels hit parts of the country's northwest.
Weeks of heavy rainfall, combined with water releases from a nearly full dam nearby, increased water levels in the Loukous River and flooded several neighbourhoods in the city of Ksar Kbir, about 190 km north of the capital Rabat.
More than 20,000 people had been moved to shelter and camps by Saturday.
Authorities set up sandbags and temporary barriers in flood-prone districts as waters began to recede.
Schools in Ksar Kbir have been ordered to remain closed until February 7 as a precaution.
The abundant rainfall ended a seven-year drought that drove the country to invest heavily in desalination plants.
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