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To face the snow, cold and bad weather conditions, the local authorities were galvanized, clearing cut off roads and isolated communes and villages. In the Drâa-Tafilalet region, and as reported before by Yabiladi, the inhabitants of several provinces were affected by the snow, some of them couldn’t leave their homes for hours and others weren’t able to join school.
Fortunately, things are getting slowly but surely back to normal in some of the region’s mountainous provinces, such as Zagora and Ouerzazate. The sun, weather and efforts of the local authorities, the inhabitants of Zaouiat Si Cherqui, a commune near Zagora, managed to presume their normal activities. Mohamed Cherkaoui, president of Si Cherqui association of Solidarity and Development, has confirmed that indeed «life is getting back to normal in the province in general and in Zaouiat Si Cherqui in particular».
«When it was snowing, the authorities came to the village they took a look at the situation and offered help. They also helped clear the roads that were cut off», indicated Cherqui who also pointed out that the weather was also helpful. «Hopefully these days it stopped snowing. Now it is raining and the snow is melting as it only lasted for a few hours».
Rural areas in Ouerzazate
Now, kids in Zaouiat Si Cherqui are back to school, as it is the case in the urban areas of Ouerzazate. In the rural parts of the Eastern province, the inhabitants are still struggling with the weather conditions. Speaking to Yabiladi, Zoubir Bouhoute, president of the Ouerzazate Tourism Provincial Council, gave an overview about the situation in there.
«It was snowing yesterday again in Ouerzazate but it was not as intense as the first time», he reported insisting that the geography of the region has definitely made it hard for people installed in villages and communes.
«The authorities have done their best to help ease the situation but we cannot assume that things are totally getting back to normal. Sometimes it is hard to move from one commune to the other. Some roads had been temporarily closed such Tizi n’Tichka and the one linking Marrakech to Ouerzazate».
According to the official settled down in Ouerzazate, the Tizi n’Tichka road was closed yesterday, and was later cleared with the help of the local authorities. He also added that «between Midelt and Tinghir, some nomads have lost their way because of the snow and the Gendarmerie Royale intervened using a helicopter. They have supplied them with food waiting for the roads to be cleared».
No school in Midelt
Although some parts have benefited from the assistance of the local authorities, the province of Midelt is still suffering from the bad weather. Unlike Zagora and some parts of Ouerzazate schools in Midelt are still closed and life is partially interrupted because of the snow.
Speaking to Yabiladi, Said Ahbar, a coordinator of the Boumia community network and member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), insisted that «schools, especially in the rural areas of the province, are still closed». «The local authorities have indeed intervened but it is still insufficient in my opinion as it does not fully meet the needs of the inhabitants», he concluded.
