Sahara Desert Flooding in Morocco: 2024 Rains and Lakes

In September 2024, two days of storms dropped more than a year's rain on parts of south-eastern Morocco, and water filled dry lake beds among the dunes for the first time in decades. Lake Iriqui, between Zagora and Tata, and Yasmina Lake at Merzouga made the news around the world. These lakes are seasonal and come and go with the rain, and desert storms are rare but sudden: here is what happened, what is left two years on, and what it means for a desert trip.

What happened in September 2024

Over the weekend of 7–8 September 2024, after six years of drought, violent thunderstorms broke over the south of Morocco. More than 100 mm of rain fell in 24 hours in Tagounite, in Zagora province, and in several places, including Tata, two days brought more rain than a normal year, according to the Moroccan government. A meteorologist from the national weather service (DGM) said the region had not seen so much rain in so short a time for 30 to 50 years.

The ground could not absorb it. Oueds, the river beds that stay dry for years, ran in flood, roads and bridges were cut, and villages from Tata to Errachidia were hit. The September storms cost at least 28 lives in southern Morocco, according to the authorities quoted by AFP, and Tata province suffered most.

Then came the pictures that went round the world: water between the palm trees and the dunes at Merzouga, and NASA satellite images of Lake Iriqui filling. Many headlines spoke of "the first floods in the Sahara in 50 years". The real figures vary: locals at Merzouga told AFP their basin had been dry for nearly twenty years, while Lake Iriqui had not held water since 1968. "The first big floods in decades" is the fairer summary.

Lakes among the dunes: Merzouga, Erg Znaigui and Iriqui

The south-east has several seasonal lakes: low, flat basins that fill after heavy rain and then slowly evaporate. Four of them made the news.

Lake	Where	When it holds water
Yasmina Lake	edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes, Merzouga	only after heavy rain
Erg Znaigui	small dune field south of Merzouga	only after heavy rain
Dayet Srij	a few kilometres from Merzouga	November to May in a normal year
Lake Iriqui	Iriqui National Park, between Zagora and Tata	very rarely: 2024 was the first time since 1968

Yasmina Lake and Erg Znaigui

Yasmina Lake lies at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes near Merzouga. In October 2024, AFP found water in it again, with tourists and guides along its shore. Water also came back to Erg Znaigui, a smaller field of dunes south of Merzouga, where it flooded the hollows between the dunes. Our cover photo was taken there at the end of December 2024, more than three months after the storms.

Dayet Srij, the flamingo lake

Dayet Srij, also called the Lake of Merzouga, is a rain-fed lake that BirdLife describes as the most important body of water in the Tafilalet. In a normal year it holds water from November to May, and until August in an exceptionally wet one; in a dry year it can stay empty. When it is full, it often draws flamingos: in spring 2025, Hespress reported them back for the first time since 2019. If you go, keep your distance: visitors walking up to the birds are the main disturbance there.

Lake Iriqui, near Zagora

Lake Iriqui lies in Iriqui National Park, created in 1994 and covering about 123,000 hectares between the Draa and the foothills of the Anti-Atlas, south-west of Zagora. A researcher from Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra told the Spanish agency EFE that the lake had last held water in 1968. It began to fill on 8 September 2024 and covered about 80 km² a month later. Iriqui is reached by 4x4 tracks west of the Erg Chigaga dunes, well beyond the usual Zagora camps.

Is there still water in the desert in 2026?

The honest answer: it depends on the month and on the last rain. Seasonal lakes shrink as they evaporate, and nobody publishes regular water levels for them; we found no reliable report on Merzouga or Iriqui for 2025 or 2026. As the Moroccan climate scientist Fatima Driouech pointed out to AFP, one extreme event does not change the desert for good.

The national picture has improved: after a wet winter, Morocco declared the end of its seven-year drought in January 2026, as we explain in Morocco after the drought. The south has recovered least. On 17 May 2026, the dams of the Draa-Oued Noun basin, which includes Zagora, were 37.49% full, the lowest of the country's main basins, and those of the Ziz-Ghris basin, around Errachidia and Merzouga, 51.60%, against 76.03% for Morocco as a whole.

So if you see a photo of water among the dunes, check its date before planning around it.

Rain still comes: December 2025 and October 2026

The 2024 floods were not the last, and the events since are the reason we take storms seriously.

14 December 2025, Merzouga. Heavy rain at Sidi Ali, near Merzouga, swept away the car of two Spanish tourists. The Royal Gendarmerie rescued them without serious injury, and the authorities asked residents and visitors not to cross oueds and ravines.
12 October 2026, Errachidia, Midelt and Tinghir. Floods cut the N10 between Tinejdad and Goulmima, covered a bridge over the oued El Hamr near Errachidia and cut a road at the ksar of Fezzou in Tinghir province. In the same province, dozens of tourists taking part in a running race had to wait in the open for the water to go down.

These are the provinces you cross on the road from Marrakech to Merzouga. A week later, the weather service forecast more storms in the south-east and repeated its advice: stay out of oueds and low ground during heavy rain.

What rain means for your desert tour

Does it rain in the Sahara in Morocco?

Yes, but very little. On the 1991–2020 averages, Errachidia, the capital of the province that includes Merzouga, gets about 140 mm a year, with March and October the wettest months and only two to four rainy days a month. When heavy rain comes, it is often a short, violent thunderstorm, and the big events of recent years fell in September, October and December. The danger is rarely the rain on your head: it is the water rushing down a dry valley from a storm that broke somewhere upstream.

What we do

We follow the national weather service's alerts before and during your trip.
We never drive through a flooded oued: we wait for the water to go down, or turn back.
If a road is cut, we change the route or the day.
If storms are forecast, we choose a camp away from river beds and low ground, or move your night in the dunes to a better day.

What you can do

Add a light waterproof layer to our desert packing list.
Keep a spare day in your plan, especially before an international flight.
Choose your season with our guide to the best time to visit the Sahara: heat and cold weigh more on a desert trip than rain does.

There is an upside. After a good rain, green patches appear between the dunes, the palm groves revive and birds come back to the lakes, a sight few travellers ever see.

FAQ

Will rain cancel my camel ride or my night in the camp?

Rarely. Most storms pass within a few hours, and in most cases we simply move the camel ride or the night in the camp.

Can I see flamingos near Merzouga?

Sometimes, at Dayet Srij when it holds water, mostly from late autumn to spring. They are never guaranteed: in dry years they stay away, as they did from 2019 until 2025.

Is it safe to visit the desert after a flood?

Yes, once the water has gone down and the roads are open. The risk is during a storm and just after, while the oueds are running: follow your driver's judgement and the local authorities' advice.

Our tip

When you book, ask us about current conditions: we'll tell you honestly whether there is water near Merzouga or Zagora that month, and plan the route around the weather. If you'd like time to look for the lakes, our 5-day Marrakech to Merzouga tour includes a full day around Erg Chebbi.