HIBAPRESS – by M. Mohayawi
In the Al Haouz region, under the supervision of local authorities, extensive field mobilization operations continue to address the repercussions of rainfall and snowfall that occurred in several areas of the region in recent days. These events have caused rockslides and the accumulation of mud and snow on several vital road axes.
These interventions, covering a distance of over 70 kilometers, included the opening of several national and regional roads of strategic importance, including regional road number 2030 linking Imlil and Tacheddirt in the commune of Asni, and national road number 9, which connects Marrakech and Ouarzazate, as well as national road number 7 linking Marrakech and Taroudant, in addition to regional road number 2036. In the same context, the competent authorities initiated intensive operations to widen the damaged roads by clearing snow, with the total distance of these interventions reaching about 35 kilometers, which significantly contributed to improving traffic flow and ensuring the passage of vehicles, especially trucks and heavy vehicles. At the level of basic services, the Marrakech–Safi regional multi-service company continued its interventions to repair the faults that affected the electricity grid due to the bad weather conditions, where more than 30 points of interruption were addressed, which enabled the restoration of electricity to a number of affected communities. These efforts are part of the ongoing work of the regional alert committee in the Al Haouz region, which includes local authorities, territorial communities, the regional directorate for equipment, security services, and the regional multi-service company, in addition to the decentralized services of the health and national education sectors and national cooperation, within the framework of a proactive approach aimed at reducing the effects of climate fluctuations. As part of the preventive measures, a set of precautionary measures were taken, including the temporary suspension of studies in some educational institutions located in the rugged mountainous areas, in order to ensure the safety of students, educational and administrative staff. Awareness was also raised among the residents living along the waterways about the need to take precautions, in addition to monitoring the health status of vulnerable groups, especially pregnant women and people with chronic diseases. In this humanitarian context, a civil protection team, accompanied by the local authority, was able, late on Sunday night, to intervene in the Douar of Tizki in the commune of Ourika to rescue a person who had suffered a severe respiratory crisis, where the intervention team was forced to walk a distance of nearly four kilometers on foot due to the inability of the ambulance to access the area as a result of the rockslides. First aid was provided to the patient on the spot before transferring him to the field military hospital in the commune of Ourika to receive the necessary treatment. The regional authorities confirm that this comprehensive mobilization will continue, at various levels, until the weather conditions improve, with the aim of reducing potential losses and ensuring the protection of the lives and property of citizens, in light of these exceptional climatic conditions. In this context, the continuous field presence of the governor of the Al Haouz region is noted, who is keen on the daily and accurate follow-up of various interventions, in an actual embodiment of the concept of "authority close to the citizen". He has been described by a number of local actors as "the eye that does not sleep", in view of his continuous monitoring of the progress of work and his rapid interaction with emergency developments, relying on high competence and field experience accumulated through his administrative career, in addition to what is witnessed of his high morals and humanitarian sense in dealing with the issues of the population.
