In Pictures: Morocco manages long awaited winter after years of drought

After seven consecutive years of drought and a serious water crisis in Morocco, winter this year feels special.

Rare snowfall hit Oujda, marking the city’s first significant snow since 2012, as a cold wave swept the region and blanketed streets, public squares, motorcycles, and cars across the city.

Snowfall has also blanketed several high-altitude areas of Khenifra province, covering mountain peaks and cedar forests in white, transforming the towering Atlas cedars into striking winter landscapes, and restoring long-awaited winter scenes in Morocco’s Middle Atlas.

The cold weather did not stop people from going to Oukaimeden and other areas, like Ifrane and Michlifen, with long lines of cars along the road as families and visitors enjoyed the snow and skiing.

But heavy snow has also cut off roads in Midelt, Ifrane, and other areas, with authorities closing some routes and warning people about slippery roads and the risk of avalanches.

Snow flow has even piled up at some doorways in Amlchil commune, Midelt province, cutting off access to several villages and blocking all main and secondary roads to and from the area, leaving residents isolated and struggling to carry out daily activities.

Heavy rainfalls swept through several cities in Morocco, including Salé and Tetouane, causing sudden floods that submerged residential buildings, overwhelmed drainage channels, and turned streets into pools of water, disrupting traffic.

Morocco’s dams were also filled, officially ending a prolonged seven-year drought, boosting reservoir levels, and effectively adding a year of drinking water supply on average across the country.

In some areas, dams were full, forcing authorities to release excess water, as at Ksar El Kebir Dam and Barrage d’Aoulouz in Taroudant province.

In Ksar El Kebir, heavy rains and the overflowing Oued Makhazine Dam, which exceeded 100% of its capacity, submerged streets, flooded homes up to a meter, forced the evacuation of the local hospital, and sent water rushing through streets and alleys, submerging cars and overwhelming drainage channels.