After a series of natural catastrophes in Morocco this past 2019, the World Bank announced on December 11, 2019, that it will lend $275 million to the North African Kingdom. The advance will be used to start the Disaster Risk Management Policy Loan and develop a Drawdown Option for Catastrophe Risks (CAT DDO).
“Developing comprehensive risk insurance is critical for the vulnerable population whose livelihood can be threatened in the event of a natural disaster,” explained World Bank’s Maghreb country director Jesko Hentschel in a press release. It also outlined that the fund serves as a tool to assist the “poor and vulnerable” in cases of natural disasters.
During the last few months of 2019, four major disasters hit central Morocco and killed 7 people. In Midelt, a town located in high plains between the Middle and Atlas mountains, an earthquake was recorded at 5.3 degrees on the Richter scale. During the summertime, Morocco also experienced severe floods that destroyed its countryside.