Death toll rises to 10 in Morocco floods

Ten people died in Morocco at the weekend when floodwaters swept away a bus in the country's south, authorities said, raising the toll from the previously reported two dead.

Initially, the authorities said heavy rainstorms in Tata province late Friday had claimed two lives and left 14 people missing.

But since then the bodies of eight others had been found and another 13 were rescued, a health ministry official told the MAP state news agency.

Seven people were still missing, the same source said.

Earlier this month, torrential rains triggered floods that killed at least 18 people in areas of southern Morocco that straddle the Sahara desert.

The rare heavy rains come as the North African kingdom grapples with its worst drought in nearly 40 years, threatening its economically crucial agriculture sector.

Morocco is one of the world's most water-stressed nations, with frequent droughts affecting a third of the population employed in agriculture.

Experts say climate change is making extreme weather, such as storms and droughts, more frequent and intense.

For water levels in dams to rise and groundwater to replenish, experts say the rains would need to continue over a longer period of time.