More than 20 people have died in Morocco and Algeria due to unusual heavy rains pouring down on the dry mountains and desert areas of North Africa.
According to the Associated Press on the 10th (local time), Moroccan authorities reported that 56 houses collapsed and 18 people died, with 9 missing, due to heavy rains in some rural areas of the southern and central regions last weekend. The deceased included foreign nationals from Canada and Peru.
The affected areas suffered damage to major roads, drinking water, and electrical infrastructure. Lakid Elkalfi, spokesperson for the Moroccan Ministry of Interior, stated in a press release the previous day that efforts are underway to restore communications and roads in the affected regions.
Local authorities in Algeria also reported that at least five people died due to heavy rain damage in the desert region last weekend. The AP added that meteorologists predicted that unusual flooding could occur in the Sahara Desert of North Africa, where rainfall is typically low.
In Chad, Africa, AFP reported that 341 people have died from heavy rains and floods since July. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that during this period, heavy rains struck all 23 provinces of Chad, destroying 1.64 million houses and washing away 259,000 hectares (2,590 km²) of farmland.
Idris Abdalla Hassan, a forecaster at the Chad Meteorological Agency, said, "Generally, annual rainfall in mountainous areas does not reach 200 mm, but heavy rains occur every five or ten years."
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