Algeria: “Bad weather spell causes several fatalities and extensive material damage”
Five people have perished, several others are still missing and three bridges have collapsed as a result of the heavy downpours notably in the province of El-Bayad (700 km southwest of Algiers) over the past 24 hours, according to the first assessment reports issued by the Civil Protection department.
- This sudden spell of bad weather also provoked major disruptions to road traffic in various regions of the country and numerous car accidents were reported prompting units of the national gendarmerie and civil protection squads to intervene to help the injured and to clear up road traffic in order to ward off protracted logjams.
- Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Setif (300-km east of Algiers) woke up Monday morning to discover a light layer of snow covering mountains, plains, trees, roof-tops and vehicles across this eastern city and its vicinity.
- Even if they are used to it (Setif is about 1,200 m above sea level), the local population is always delighted to find such white snow-coat, which is seen as a harbinger of a looming bumper harvest by the local farmers.
- Elsewhere in Algeria, the Wali or Governor of Batna (435km southeast of Algiers) said that emergency building works would be launched immediately in those districts of the city battered by the floods of October 28-29.
- The Batna Governor made the announcement during a broad-based meeting to assess the material damage caused by the bad weather conditions in the whole Aurès region.