Doha – Torrential rains triggered catastrophic flooding across southern Algeria over the weekend, leaving at least six people dead and several more missing. The unprecedented deluge destroyed homes and critical infrastructure in the normally arid desert region.
Algeria’s Interior Minister Brahim Merad described the situation as “catastrophic” in a statement on state television. Civil protection and military personnel have been deployed to assist with rescue efforts and aid families trapped by the floodwaters.
Since Saturday night and Sunday morning, successive Civil Protection statements reported the rescue of dozens of people trapped by water in several Saharan provinces, such as Bechar, Tindouf, Naama, Beni Abbes (southwest), Tamanrasset and Illizi (southeast).
The National Gendarmerie (a force under the Ministry of Defense) published videos on its official Facebook page showing the disruption of traffic on several roads in southern provinces due to floods.
In the province of Bechar (southwest), floods swept away a bridge in the city center due to the tremendous force of the water flow, according to videos widely circulated on social media platforms.
Civil Protection teams intervened to evacuate families after water inundated many residential areas, particularly in the provinces of Naama and Bechar.
The heavy rains in recent days have replenished dam reserves in western and southwestern Algeria, according to reports on social media, especially in the provinces of Bechar and Tiaret, which had suffered from severe drought and water scarcity in recent months.
Algeria’s government weather office issued successive warning bulletins since Saturday morning, indicating very heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms in several Saharan provinces, especially in the southwestern regions and the far south of the country.
Algeria’s eastern neighbor, Morocco, was also hard hit by the storms. At least 18 people died there and over 50 homes collapsed. Nine people remain missing, where the downpours exceeded historic averages and annual rainfall totals in just two days in some locations.
The flooding struck Algeria as the country held presidential elections over the weekend. It also comes just a year after a deadly earthquake rocked Morocco’s mountainous regions, underscoring the vulnerability of infrastructure in parts of North Africa to extreme weather events and natural disasters.
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