During the night of Wednesday to Thursday 13 October, torrential rains in the wilaya of Tiaret in Algeria caused monstrous flooding. Four human lives, including an infant, and significant material damage were reported.
According to a statement issued by the Algerian civil protection on Thursday morning, the floods in the commune of Ksar Chellala in the wilaya (department) of Tiaret (288 km west of Algiers) have been fatal for four people: a baby of only 20 days, two children and an adult. Two people, aged 34 and 48, were injured.
In addition, the civil protection services indicate that the wilaya of Tlemcen (520 km west of Algiers) has also been affected by these waves of rain. “Two people who were surrounded by water were rescued from a car that was washed away at a place called Oued El Bair in the commune of El Bouihi,” the statement said.
The same floods caused in Tlemcen, the partial collapse of a bridge on the national road n° 99, linking Sidi Djilali to Magoura, causing a stop of the traffic on the section RN 99 – CW 114. At the same time, in the wilaya of Sidi Bel Abbes, still in the west of the country, the elements of civil protection intervened to save a man whose tractor was surrounded by water in a rural commune.
These latest events are increasing the toll of flooding in Algeria. Last week, floods killed four people in the east of the country. Three victims were reported in the wilaya of Ouled Djelal and another in the commune of Medjana, in the wilaya of Bordj Bou Arreridj.
