Dozens killed in Morocco flash floods as locals lament slow emergency response

Dozens of people have been killed after torrential rains brought flash flooding to several regions of Morocco, with locals lamenting their losses and highlighting the poor emergency response to the disaster.

At least 37 people have been killed in the worst-hit coastal province of Safi, after intense rainfall pummeled the area in a short space of time on Sunday, flooding homes and shops and even seeing vehicles being washed away by powerful torrents.

Residents in the historic old city of Safi described the terrifying moments as water levels surged dangerously high in just a matter of minutes, leaving little time for them to escape.

"I was at work when the rain began, and the water level rose very quickly. We tried to push the water out, but the force and volume were overwhelming. I lost all my bakery machines, but I survived. The streets were submerged under nearly three meters of muddy water. About 50 of us fled and were rescued by neighbors who helped us reach the rooftops," said Abdelhak Al-Kadmiri, a local resident.

The sudden downpour overwhelmed local drainage systems, leaving local residences and businesses vulnerable to the full force of the flooding, while many roads were completely cut off.

Some locals were critical of the slow response of emergency response teams, and said they felt they were largely left to fend for themselves in the wake of the extreme weather.

"Where were the municipal services? They were supposed to clean the sewers and drainage systems before the floods. No one came to check on us or help clean our homes. We spent the night on the rooftops. The authorities were absent. We lost all our belongings and now fear more heavy rain," said Fatiha Bent Mohamed, another resident.

Despite increased investment in flood prevention, drainage networks, and climate-resilient planning, this latest disastrous and fatal round of flooding has exposed how easily Morocco’s infrastructure can be overwhelmed by such weather events and raised questions about the country’s emergency response capabilities.

"Flash floods have laid bare the vulnerability of infrastructure to climate change, with heavy rainfall in a short timeframe overwhelming drainage networks. Blocked sewage channels caused water levels to rise, resulting in deaths and major disruption to daily life. The situation highlights the pressing need for sustainable environmental measures and robust early-warning systems," said Zakaria Ait Taleb, an environmental expert.

With more rain expected, civil protection teams have now been deployed to Safi to carry out search and rescue operations, evacuate residents from high-risk areas, and assess the scale of damage, with authorities saying emergency crews would stay on alert as conditions evolve.

Dozens killed in Morocco flash floods as locals lament slow emergency response

Dozens killed in Morocco flash floods as locals lament slow emergency response

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has reclaimed the top spot in global IPO market rankings for the first time since 2019.

According to global professional services firm KPMG, funds raised from initial public offerings in Hong Kong tripled from a year ago to over 272 billion Hong Kong dollars in 2025.

It noted half of the funds raised were from companies on the Chinese equity markets' A+H listing, referring to dual listings where a mainland Chinese company has its shares traded on both a stock exchange in the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong's exchange.

A record number of 17 A+H listings were completed in 2025. With a backlog of 92 dual-listing applications, Hong Kong is likely to maintain its IPO momentum into next year.

"The Hong Kong market is always an exciting market, because it only takes perhaps one or two companies to make it the number one market in the world. And it's always been competitive with the U.S. markets. I don't think there's another market out there that could actually compete with the U.S. markets. It's been an exciting year for Hong Kong [market]. They've had a number of listings over there and it's become the alternative right now to the U.S. markets, especially for some of the Asian companies, Chinese [mainland] specifically," said Drew Bernstein, co-chair of advisory firm MarcumAsia.

When asked about next year, Bernstein said artificial intelligence will be in the spotlight.

"I think everybody's got their focus right now on AI. I haven't seen a lot of companies that are actually selling AI and making money. But obviously, the hardware people are making a lot of money right now. And that's where the focus is. Particularly in places like China, you've seen what the government is promoting right now is globalization for these companies. I think that's going to be a big push for the markets right now, because with globalization, you also have to globalize your finance part of the company. And it's going to force a lot of the companies to become more mature. There's also a bunch of them lined up right now for 2026. So I think it's going to be a pretty interesting year for IPOs. When the market is rich with IPOs, it's good for all the markets," he said.

The expert expressed optimism about the Asian economy, predicting that the region will produce many unicorns in the coming years.

"I'm very optimistic about more listings from Asia. I use Asia rather than just China, because probably 40 to 55 percent of our business right now is coming from places like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan. The interesting part about that is, my guess would be 20 to 30 percent of it is still Chinese. I've said for some time right now that I think going forward, at least for the next five or 10 years, the majority of the industry-disruptive unicorns will be coming from Asia," he said.

Hong Kong reclaims top global IPO market ranking