15 killed and hundreds left homeless by flash floods

Rabat: Flash floods triggered by torrential rain have killed 15 people and left hundreds homeless in Morocco over the past week.

The rains hit last weekend and flood waters have yet to subside in parts of the Settat and Essaouria regions.

The first deaths occurred on Monday, when six people were drowned when their taxi was swept away in Settat by the overflowing Boumoussa river, 150km south of the capital Rabat.

Officials told the Associated Press news agency that an 11-year-old boy and two others were also killed in separate incidents in Settat. According to AP, a further six people died around the Atlantic tourist destination of Essaouria.

The floods have caused damage estimated at $1.75 million and hundreds of families are homeless.

Reuters news agency reported that the industrial city of Mohamedia, 70km south of Rabat, had been cut off when the Oued Al Maleh river burst its banks.