What happened
Morocco spent Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 November 2026 under the effects of storm « Charles ». The national weather service (DGM) issued orange-level warnings for heavy rain and strong winds across several dozen provinces, from the Rif to the Souss. In the late afternoon of Wednesday, an incident on the very-high-voltage grid plunged a large part of Casablanca, the country's economic capital, into darkness.
The forecast: rain, wind and dust
According to the DGM bulletins reported by Le Matin and Le Brief, the rain was expected from Wednesday 12:00 to Thursday 12:00:
- 80 to 110 mm in Chefchaouen, Al Hoceima, Tétouan, Essaouira, Agadir-Ida-Ou-Tanane, Inezgane-Aït Melloul and Chtouka-Aït Baha;
- 40 to 80 mm in Taounate, Larache, Sidi Kacem, Kénitra, Taza, Ouezzane and Taroudant;
- 20 to 40 mm over a wide area that includes Casablanca and Rabat.
Gusts of 90 to 100 km/h were forecast on Wednesday between 12:00 and 23:00 in Safi, Essaouira, El Jadida, Tétouan and Tanger-Assilah, among others, and 80 to 90 km/h in Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech, with blowing dust in places.
Schools closed in several provinces
Provincial education directorates, working with the local watch committees, suspended classes as a precaution. On Wednesday, rural schools closed for the day in Tétouan, Chefchaouen and M'diq-Fnideq, while urban schools there closed in the afternoon; Taounate suspended all classes, and Essaouira and the Souss-Massa provinces stopped teaching in the afternoon. On Thursday, classes were suspended in Tétouan, Al Hoceima, Chefchaouen, Larache, Ouezzane, Fahs-Anjra, M'diq-Fnideq, Essaouira and Sidi Bennour, Le Brief reported. Parents were asked to follow announcements from their provincial directorate, as decisions were taken day by day.
Advice for drivers
The Ministry of Equipment and Water urged motorists to postpone non-essential trips, avoid driving at night, check their vehicle before leaving and never attempt to cross flooded fords or submersible roads. A hotline on the state of the roads is available on 05 37 71 17 17.
Casablanca in the dark
At 16:48 on Wednesday, according to the regional utility SRM Casablanca-Settat quoted by Le360, an incident on the very-high-voltage lines of the national electricity office ONEE, caused by the gusts and the storm, cut power to several source substations feeding the city. Districts including the city centre, Maârif, El Fida, Aïn Chock, Ben M'sick, Sidi Othmane, Hay Hassani and Sidi Maârouf were affected, as well as Bouskoura and Dar Bouazza in the neighbouring province of Nouaceur, according to Yabiladi and Le360.
The effects were felt immediately: tramway lines stopped, traffic lights went out and caused major traffic jams, people were stuck in lifts, and many shops and cafés closed early. Mobile and internet services were also disrupted in some areas.
A gradual return of power
The SRM said it activated its crisis plan and rerouted supply through the medium-voltage network to restore customers step by step. According to Maroc Hebdo, power came back in some districts after about an hour and a half; La Quotidienne describes a blackout that lasted about four hours in total for the most affected areas. The utility apologised to its customers for the inconvenience.
What remains to be confirmed
- The exact technical cause. The SRM and press reports point to an incident on ONEE's high-voltage lines linked to the weather. ONEE's detailed technical explanation had not been published in the sources we consulted.
- The cyberattack hypothesis. Maroc Hebdo reported that this hypothesis was circulating, without citing any named source. No authority has confirmed it, and the official explanations so far point to the storm.
- The full damage toll. A consolidated assessment of the material damage and possible casualties caused by the storm had not been published when this article was written. We will update it if an official toll is released.
Sources
- Maroc Hebdo — Casablanca : une panne d'électricité géante plonge plusieurs quartiers dans le noir
- Yabiladi — Blackout électrique à Casablanca et dans les villes limitrophes
- Le Matin — Intempéries au Maroc : suspension des cours dans plusieurs provinces
- Le Brief — Intempéries : les cours suspendus jeudi dans plusieurs provinces du royaume
- Le Brief — Vigilance orange : pluies et vents violents dans plusieurs provinces
- Le Matin — La tempête Charles arrive : plusieurs régions du Maroc sous les pluies
- La Quotidienne — Casablanca : récit de quatre heures de blackout
- Le360 — Casablanca plongée dans le noir : les explications de la SRM Casablanca-Settat
