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Add TN as a preferred source on GoogleMAGHREB — Torrential rains have swept parts of the Maghreb in recent days, leaving people dead in Algeria and Tunisia and causing flash floods in Libya, where authorities have issued warnings and taken precautionary measures.
The severe weather follows a scorching summer and has affected several parts of the region, with thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and rapidly rising water levels disrupting transport and trapping people.
In Algeria, exceptionally heavy rainfall swept several provinces in the east of the country. Violent thunderstorms and sudden flooding killed two Algerian servicemen, including a gendarme whose body was found near the Tunisian border in the Kasserine region, which was also hit by severe weather over the weekend.
In Tébessa, eastern Algeria, one person died and five others were rescued on Saturday following heavy rains that affected the region and several other provinces.
In neighbouring Tunisia, the bodies of a father and his son, who had been reported missing, were recovered. The father was found in Oued Thelja, while his son’s body was later discovered near Oued S’hili. The storms also caused damage to infrastructure in several parts of the region, including the railway network.
Libya on alert
Several parts of Libya have been hit by heavy rainfall and flooding, prompting authorities to issue warnings and adopt precautionary measures as they monitor the weather situation.
The Libyan Red Crescent said it was prepared to respond to the severe weather affecting several regions. It also reported the deaths of three members of the same family — a man, his wife and their daughter — after floodwaters swept away their vehicle as they crossed the bed of Wadi Zagar in Sokna, central Libya.
The incident occurred after heavy rainfall hit the area on Wednesday afternoon.
In Tobruk, the municipality declared a precautionary state of alert over possible developments linked to the weather conditions. The Security Directorate in Al-Qubba also warned residents about heavy rainfall and the risk of flooding on several roads and in different areas.
The latest weather episode comes three years after devastating floods struck Derna in northeastern Libya, killing more than 10,000 people.
Rainwater has since reached the sea through the course of Wadi Derna, while further rainfall is expected in the coming hours.
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