Morocco's Poor Find It Hard to Comply With Isolation Orders

Moroccan policemen instruct people to return to and remain at home as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the capital Rabat's district of Takadoum. AFP
Moroccan policemen instruct people to return to and remain at home as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the capital Rabat's district of Takadoum. AFP
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Morocco's Poor Find It Hard to Comply With Isolation Orders

Moroccan policemen instruct people to return to and remain at home as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the capital Rabat's district of Takadoum. AFP
Moroccan policemen instruct people to return to and remain at home as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the capital Rabat's district of Takadoum. AFP

Self-isolation to help stem the spread of coronavirus has been a hard measure for some Moroccans like Abdellah who stays out in the street to avoid staying indoors without sunlight in the impoverished neighborhood of the capital Rabat where he lives.

"I know social isolation is a must. But it's just not possible to stay home all day," says the 49-year-old street trader who lives with his wife and three children.

Ever since a March 20 lockdown, flats in densely-populated areas like Takadoum, which is packed with concrete buildings up to four floors high with tiny windows, can feel like virtual prisons.

Those who respect the stay-at-home rules gather inside the gates of the buildings just to kill time. Many venture out, AFP reported.

Moroccan authorities have deployed police, soldiers and even armored cars in some towns to enforce the lockdown, as the country's death toll from the coronavirus pandemic rose to 33 on Tuesday out of 574 declared cases.

Apart from isolation measures, Morocco has also adopted economic and social measures to assist companies, workers and those dependent on social services.

State aid of between 800 and 1,200 dirhams ($80 to $120) is to be allocated for needy families to weather the crisis, from a $3.2-billion emergency package also funded by corporate and private donations

Soufiane, 32, lives in a two-bedroom flat with his parents and five siblings, although he is aware of "the seriousness of the illness and importance of quarantine."

"We're just overcrowded and it's not easy," he says.

Soufiane made a living by selling clothes at a local market, which is closed and whose neighborhood is hemmed in by checkpoints.

His neighbor Abdelkhalek, 52, said his five-member family could put up with living "on top of each other in 40 square meters but how can we do that without an income?"

He continued: "Conditions to live a decent life just don't exist in many homes.

- Rare Distraction -

Every night from 6:00 pm, security forces, normally wearing sanitary masks, patrol the narrow alleyways of Takadoum.

"Go inside, it's better for you! Protect yourselves from this terrible disease!" an officer called out over a loudspeaker.

Most comply without hesitation, others dash out for a last urgent bit of shopping, while some re-emerge once the patrol is gone.

The routine, watched from small windows and rooftops, often filmed on mobile phones, provides one of the rare distractions of daily life under lockdown.

According to AFP, almost 450 people have been arrested for breaching the public health state of emergency across Morocco, according to the latest official figures.

Penalties include up to three months in jail and fines of up to 1,300 dirhams ($130), or both.



What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
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What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)

Flash floods in Texas killed at least 100 people over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and left others still missing, including girls attending a summer camp. The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions.

Here's what to know about the deadly flooding, the colossal weather system that drove it in and around Kerr County, Texas, and ongoing efforts to identify victims.

Massive rain hit at just the wrong time, in a flood-prone place

The floods grew to their worst at the midpoint of a long holiday weekend when many people were asleep.

The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday's flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.

After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 a.m., some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.

Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain

In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 75 people, including 27 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Monday morning. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 94 as of Monday afternoon.

Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.

For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.

Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday had said that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said during a Monday news conference he couldn't give an estimate of the number of people still missing, only saying “it is a lot.”

Officials face scrutiny over flash flood warnings

Survivors have described the floods as a “pitch black wall of death” and said they received no emergency warnings.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said Saturday that “nobody saw this coming.” Officials have referred to it as a “100-year-flood,” meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.

And records behind those statistics don’t always account for human-caused climate change. Though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.

Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4 a.m. or told to evacuate.

Rice said Monday that he did not immediately know if there had been any communication between law enforcement and the summer camps between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday. But Rice said various factors, including spotty cell service in some of the more isolated areas of Kerr County and cell towers that might have gone out of service during the weather, could have hindered communication.

Rice said officials want to finish the search and rescue and then review possible issues with cell towers, radios and emergency alerts.

Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.

Kerr county officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.

Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort

The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.

"It’s going to be a long time before we’re ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it," Kelly said Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.

Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.

President Donald Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday.

AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction, and one of Texas' largest rescue and recovery efforts.