Rabat: The Integrated Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Program has transformed Morocco’s approach to handling disasters, shifting the focus from reactive responses to proactive prevention. By 2025, the program had successfully financed over 300 resilience projects, safeguarding millions and establishing one of the most sophisticated disaster financing systems in the region.
According to World Bank, Morocco has been frequently threatened by natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, droughts, and coastal erosion, all exacerbated by climate change and rapid urbanization. The September 2023 Al-Haouz earthquake resulted in nearly 3,000 fatalities and impacted around 300,000 people. Subsequent disasters, including flash floods in Safi in December 2025 and severe flooding in northern Morocco in early 2026, further highlighted the nation’s vulnerability, prompting the government to declare disaster areas across several provinces.
The World Bank Group (WBG) has supported Morocco with a compre
hensive approach that includes financing, policy reform, technical assistance, and partnerships over more than a decade. The program has helped Morocco establish a complete system for managing risks before they occur. Key initiatives include transforming the disaster fund into a resilience financing mechanism, setting up a permanent disaster management directorate, and adopting the country’s inaugural national strategy for disaster risk management. Additionally, a new public-private insurance system was introduced to protect both insured and uninsured households.
Technical assistance has been pivotal in enhancing resilient infrastructure standards, implementing safer building regulations, and advancing city resilience planning, particularly in Fez and Mohammedia/Ain Harrouda. The WBG, in collaboration with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the Global Shield Financing Facility, and the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), has contributed expertise and funding to these efforts.
Between 2016 and 2025, Morocco invested over $408 million in more than 300 disaster risk reduction projects, encompassing flood protection works, early warning systems, hazard mapping, and safer urban planning. By March 2025, structural projects had protected nearly 700,000 people, with women accounting for about 50 percent of those protected, significantly exceeding initial targets.
Non-structural initiatives, such as risk mapping, early warning systems, and preparedness measures, have benefited over 36 million people nationwide by 2025, with women making up roughly half of the beneficiaries. From 2020 to 2025, Morocco established the Directorate for Disaster Risk Management and adopted its first National Disaster Risk Management Strategy for 2020-2030.
By 2025, the new catastrophe insurance system covered nearly 20 million people, while a public solidarity fund mobilized $133 million and disbursed $300 million following the 2023 Al-Haouz earthquake. Since 2023, a new early-warning system for floods has pr
otected 240,000 people in four high-risk areas.
The program has not only contributed to the WBG’s climate adaptation and resilience agenda by reducing disaster risk for over 36 million Moroccans but also generated temporary jobs in construction and engineering. It has fortified the resilience of businesses, agriculture, and urban economies susceptible to floods and earthquakes.
Morocco’s experience underscores the importance of integrating institutional reform, investment, and financial protection for effective disaster resilience. The establishment of a dedicated disaster management authority and a long-term national strategy enabled sustained investments and coordinated actions across ministries and local governments. The rapid resource mobilization during the Al-Haouz earthquake in 2023 illustrated the significance of having financial protection mechanisms in place before disasters strike.
The WBG remains committed to supporting Morocco in enhancing its resilience to disasters and climate-related shocks
. Future efforts will focus on expanding flood early-warning systems, bolstering the resilience of critical infrastructure and buildings, improving local disaster preparedness, and scaling up risk-informed urban planning. The ongoing Global Shield grant is aiding Morocco in further strengthening its financial protection against climate-related shocks. Morocco’s approach is also guiding new operations in other countries, establishing it as a regional leader and a source of insights for disaster resilience.