Morocco’s Minister of Equipment and Water Nizar Baraka said the legal conditions required to declare several northern and northeastern provinces disaster zones have not been met, despite calls from political and civil society actors following recent severe weather.
Speaking to the media, Baraka said provinces including Taounate, Chefchaouen, Taza and Al Hoceima did not meet the conditions set out by law to be officially classified as disaster areas.
“The conditions stipulated by law to declare them disaster zones were not fulfilled,” Baraka said, adding that the absence of such a declaration does not mean the provinces will be excluded from rehabilitation programs.
His remarks follow demands from political parties and associations calling for the same disaster classification granted to Larache, Kenitra, Sidi Slimane and Sidi Kacem, which were heavily affected by flooding.
Under Moroccan law, an area may be declared affected by a natural disaster if it experiences flooding for 504 consecutive hours, or 168 consecutive hours in the case of an earthquake or tsunami, according to Article 4 of the implementing decree related to Law 110.14. These criteria determine eligibility for compensation from the national Solidarity Fund against Catastrophic Events, which is backed by international insurance mechanisms.
Baraka said the controversy surrounding the government’s decision stems from a misunderstanding of these legal criteria, stressing that disaster declarations are necessary to trigger compensation mechanisms but are not the sole basis for state intervention.
He said provinces in the north and northeast would still benefit from infrastructure rehabilitation and housing repair programs and would not be “abandoned.”
As part of the planned measures, the Ministry of Equipment has scheduled the rehabilitation of National Road No. 2 linking Bab Taza and Bab Berred in Chefchaouen Province, Regional Road No. 414 in the same province, National Road No. 8 in Al Hoceima Province, and National Road No. 13 connecting Ouezzane and Chefchaouen. Several damaged rural roads will also be repaired, he said.
Baraka added that the government’s program goes beyond the provinces officially designated as disaster zones and includes preventive measures such as building bridges to elevate roads above waterways, part of a long-term strategy to address increasingly frequent climate disruptions and flooding.
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