Des inondations à Ghardaia

[Al-khiyal]

Nearly 30 dead, dozens injured in Algeria floods: ministry

ALGIERS, October 2, 2008 (AFP) — Flash floods following torrential rain south of Algiers have killed at least 29 people, injured 48 and left one person missing, the interior ministry said Thursday, warning of higher casualties.

Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni described them as the worst floods in a century.

"Based on the overflight that we made, the toll unfortunately could be greater," Zerhouni told reporters, after meeting local authorities in the sodden Ghardaia region.

Rain has been falling since Monday in the region, which lies about 500 kilometres (300 miles) south of Algiers.

The government previously said 13 people had been killed in the floods, which have damaged at least 600 homes, many of them in oasis areas.

A local resident reached by telephone by AFP suggested the toll could indeed be higher in the central Algerian region following the first rainfall in four years.

"The population even talks of about a hundred victims and up to one thousand houses flooded," he said.

The rainfall, which had started Monday continued into Tuesday but "not very hard," he said. "Wednesday it was a deluge," he added.

The wadis, or seasonal rivers, had filled up and spilled into the larger M'zab wadi river, which then flooded, sweeping away everything in its path.

The flooding has cut off roads and rendered telephone connections erratic.

"The bakeries are shut, there is neither gas nor electricity, the shops are flooded and their stocks are probably unusable," Zerhouni said, adding the government's priority was to aid the affected population.

Ministers were to meet Thursday to assess the damage and the population's needs, the minister said.

Several areas in Algeria were lashed by heavy rain over two days including Djelfa - midway between Ghardaia and Algiers - where two people died.

Algeria is no stranger to bad weather, particularly in the north. Flooding in the Algiers region in 2001 killed more than 800 people and caused considerable damage.

[Al-khiyal]

Death toll from floods in southern Algeria rises to 30 dead, 50 wounded

ALGERIA, October 2, 2008 (KUNA) - Algerian authorities announced Thursday the high death toll from floods that swept through the province of Ghardaia (650 km south of Algiers) to be 30 dead and 50 wounded, including two in critical condition. The governor of the province said in a press conference today that eight districts out of 13 in the province have been damaged by heavy rains that have not stopped pouring since last Tuesday, noting that serious damage has occurred to more than 600 houses in the region. The Algerian authorities have hastened to send 400 tons of food and 200,000 blankets and more than a thousand tents, generators and a makeshift water-treatment plant for the production of potable water. The Algerian army has intervened to rescue flood victims and search for the missing as a result of the disaster. Civil defense units have also participated in rescue operations. The Algerian government has held an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ahmad Ouyahia to discuss the situation and decided to name the Ghardaia region a "disaster area" and to put in place a plan to ensure the safety of all families and their properties.

[Al-khiyal]

Algeria floods toll rises to 31

October 3, 2008 -- The death toll in flash floods in a historic Algerian town climbed to 31 Friday, as aid workers battled to help hundreds of homeless and the army was deployed to prevent looting, state radio said.

Fifty people were injured and about 1,000 were homeless around Ghardaia, a UN World Heritage site at the entrance to the Algerian desert, some 600 kilometres (375 miles) south of Algiers in the M'Zab Valley, state radio said.

Hundreds of civilian volunteers, Red Crescent officials and Muslim scouts worked round-the-clock to help those living rough. The water was eight metres (26 feet high) in some parts of the town of Ghardaia, the report said.

Basic aid and food was arriving from nearby towns in trucks, the radio said.

Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said the floods are the worst for a century.

Gas and electricity supplies have been partially revived, but there was an acute shortage of basic goods and medicines - most of which had been damaged due to the flooding.

The interior ministry sent tents, generators and 400 tonnes of first aid to the region. The army is being deployed in the area to prevent looting.

The government previously said 13 people had been killed in the floods, which have damaged some 600 homes, many of them in oasis areas.

A resident reached by telephone by AFP suggested the toll could be higher in the region following the first rainfall in four years.

"The population even talks of about 100 victims and up to 1,000 houses flooded," he said, while adding that the rainfall, which started Monday and had become "a deluge" by Wednesday.

The resident said seasonal rivers had filled up and spilled into a larger one, which then flooded, sweeping away everything in its path.

"Authorities spoke of a flow of 900 cubic metres (32,000 cubic feet) per second," he added.

Several areas in Algeria were lashed by heavy rain including Djelfa - midway between Ghardaia and Algiers - where two people died.

Flooding in the Algiers region in 2001 killed more than 800 people and caused considerable damage.

[Al-khiyal]

Les inondations qui ont ravagé mercredi la région de Ghardaia ont fait 31 morts et 50 blessés,
selon un nouveau bilan établi vendredi matin, a indiqué la radio nationale

Vendredi 3 Octobre 2008 -- Les inondations qui ont ravagé mercredi la région de Ghardaia ont fait 31 morts et 50 blessés, selon un nouveau bilan établi vendredi matin, a indiqué la radio nationale. Un prédécent bilan faisait état jeudi soir de 30 morts. La ville de Ghardaia, dont presque tous les quartiers ont été inondés, a été la plus touchée par ces inondations qui ont frappé cette région considérée comme la porte du désert et qui ont également fait un millier de sinistrés, a ajouté la radio.

[Al-khiyal]

Inondations : des milliers de manifestants réclament de l'aide à Ghardaïa

Vendredi 3 Octobre 2008 -- Des milliers de personnes se sont rassemblées vendredi à Ghardaïa, ravagée par des inondations qui ont fait 31 morts, pour réclamer une aide plus rapide des autorités et des moyens plus importants, ont rapporté des participants à l'AFP. Près de cinq mille habitants de la ville, selon ces sources, se sont réunis dans le centre-ville pour se rendre au siège de la wilaya mais en ont été empêchés par les forces de l'ordre, ont-ils précisé. Les manifestants réclamaient une aide plus rapide des autorités, principalement alimentaire, après les inondations qui ont ravagé la ville mercredi. Ils demandaient aussi des moyens matériels plus importants pour fouiller les décombres des maisons où se trouvent peut être encore des survivants ou des corps de victimes, ont-ils ajouté. A midi, un millier de personnes étaient encore sur place, peu avant la prière du vendredi, a constaté un témoin.

[Al-khiyal]

Algeria floods toll rises to 31

ALGIERS, October 3, 2008 (AFP) — Around 5,000 people demonstrated in the flood-riven southern Algerian town of Ghardaia on Friday to demand urgent aid after flash floods killed 31 residents, witnesses said.

Police broke up the rally before the crowd could reach the municipal headquarters, witnesses told AFP. The protesters demanded basic food supplies and equipment to help search for survivors or bodies buried in the rubble.

The death toll in Ghardaia climbed to 31 Friday, as aid workers battled to help hundreds of homeless and the army was deployed to prevent looting, state radio said.

Fifty people were injured and about 1,000 were homeless around the historic town, a UN World Heritage site at the entrance to the Algerian desert in the M'Zab Valley, state radio said.

Hundreds of volunteers, Red Crescent workers and Muslim scouts were helping the homeless. The radio said the water level was eight metres (26 feet) high in some parts of the town, some 600 kilometres (373 miles) south of the capital Algiers.

Basic aid and food was arriving from nearby towns in trucks, the radio said.

Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said the floods are the worst for a century, while locals on Friday reported sweeping damage.

"Hundreds of houses have been destroyed but thousands have been damaged and are uninhabitable in the area," said a resident of El-Gaba, a village near Ghardaia, speaking in front of his ravaged home.

"It's unimaginable, a real catastrophe," added another, confirming that four people had died in the vicinity and three others were missing.

Another shocked resident said all the homes damaged by the waters would effectively have to be rebuilt.

Gas and electricity supplies have been partially revived, but there was an acute shortage of basic goods and medicines - most of which had been damaged due to the flooding.

The interior ministry sent tents, generators and 400 tonnes of first aid to the region. But residents of Ghardaia, who took to the streets Friday, said they needed emergency supplies more quickly.

The government previously said 13 people had been killed in the floods.

A resident reached by telephone told AFP the toll could be higher in the region following the first rainfall in four years.

"The population even talks of about 100 victims and up to 1,000 houses flooded," he said, adding that the rainfall, which started Monday, had become "a deluge" by Wednesday.

He said seasonal rivers had filled up and spilled into a larger one, which then flooded, sweeping away everything in its path.

Several parts of Algeria were lashed by heavy rain including Djelfa - midway between Ghardaia and Algiers - where two people died.

Flooding in the Algiers region in 2001 killed more than 800 people and caused considerable damage.

[Al-khiyal]

Ghardaïa, October 2, 2008