1,000 Fear Dead In Algerian Flood
Rescuers fear toll of 1,000 in Algeria
The Boston Globe, Nov. 15, 2001
ALGIERS – (Reuters) - Rescuers feared that the death toll from Algeria's devastating flash floods could rise to 1,000, nearly twice the current official toll, as emergency teams sifted through tons of thick mud and debris yesterday.
Another 75 bodies were found between Tuesday night and yesterday in the mud of the ruined open-air market in the hard-hit district of Oued Koriche, part of the capital's Bab el Oued working-class neighborhood, the Civil Defense said.
The official death toll stood at 651 nationwide, including 604 in the capital, and 318 injured, according to Interior Ministry figures released by the official APS news agency.
But an unofficial count had at least 693 killed. Rescuers and local newspapers said that more than 300 people were still reported missing after the North African country's worst floods in four decades, probably buried under mud or washed out to sea.
Asked about the number of missing reported by the media, a Civil Defense officer in Bab el Oued said: ''The figure looks logical. Given the scale of the disaster, we could easily go above 1,000 deaths in the next few days.''
The Interior Ministry said that eight people were missing after the floods, Algeria's second worst natural disaster since independence in 1962. An earthquake in 1981 devastated the western city of Chlef, formerly El Asnam, killing 1,500 people.
A downpour Friday and Saturday set off torrents of raging muddy waters that ripped through poor neighborhoods, collapsing buildings and overturning cars.
On Saturday it rained as much in Algiers in a few hours as it does normally in a whole month at this time of year, meteorologists said. More showers, but with less intensity, were forecast last night.
The lack of adequate heavy equipment and apparent disorganization slowed search and rescue. A Civil Defense official who asked not to be named said that Algeria had no sniffer dogs, ''although we lie in a high-risk area for natural disasters such as earthquakes.'' A dog that found two survivors under the rubble Tuesday belonged to a resident.
Young volunteers dug with bare hands to extricate bodies from dried mud rising up to 6 feet high.
''They gave us nothing, not even picks or shovels, so we dig with saucepans and stainless steel plates or even with our hands,'' said Abdelghani Rouache, standing next to a huge pile of debris at the Trois Horloges market place.
This story ran on page A3 of the Boston Globe on 11/15/2001.
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Algiers Lashed by Deadly Storm
ALGIERS, Algeria, November 12, 2001 (ENS) - At least 579 people have been reported killed and another 1,000 were injured as heavy rains and winds which began Friday night have cut a swath of destruction through northern and western Algeria. Nearly all of those killed were residents of Algeria's capital city, Algiers.
Damage resulted from the heavy rains and the intensity of the winds but also from flash floods and mudslides. The situation was aggravated because of the hilly contour of the affected areas.
Severe damage to roads, housing, schools, ports, vehicles and equipment has been reported. In the worst hit areas of Algiers, a city of three million people, water, electricity and gas supplies have been cut. Neighborhoods have been evacuated for fear of landslides or mudslides.
Hardest hit is the old city of Algiers, a tight network of narrow, twisting streets and lanes on steep slopes, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage City.
According to information from the Algerian Red Crescent Society, 6,000 families, including 4,000 in Algiers, have been made homeless. Evacuations are continuing, and there is concern over the vulnerability of the homeless because of the extreme cold weather.
The Algerian government has activated its national disaster plan and has declared three days of national mourning from Tuesday. Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni has officially appealed for international aid.
Infrastructure has been heavily affected by the deluge, mud and debris that continue to pour down to Algiers from the surrounding hills. Many roads are blocked, hampering rescue operations.
Preliminary assessment of the disaster by Algerian authorities and the Algerian Red Crescent Society (ARCS) indicates that there is an urgent need for temporary shelter, large tents, food, kitchen utensils, clothes, heaters, water purification means and power supply units. ARCS today started to distribute food and milk and blankets.
It is estimated that for Algiers alone, six inches of rain fell over a 24 hour period, which is higher than the monthly average for the capital city at this time of the year.
Rain and winds are continuing, with heavy rainfall and winds in excess of 75 miles per hour anticipated.
Algerian Flash Floods' Death Toll Rises to 575
Reuters News Service,
Nov. 12, 2001ALGIERS (Reuters) - The death toll from Algeria's worst flash floods in at least 20 years rose to 575 Monday, of which 538 were in the capital Algiers, state media reported.
Interior ministry figures, provided by Algerian state radio and the official APS news agency, said at least 316 people were injured in the floods.
Most of the victims Saturday were in Algiers' working-class district of Bab el Oued, where residents were swept away by raging muddy waters cascading down a main road, buried under the rubble or their homes or trapped in their cars.
Algeria Floods Kill 300; Cabinet Summoned
Reuters News Service
, Nov. 11, 2001ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian Prime Minister Ali Benflis summoned his cabinet for an emergency meeting Sunday as the worst floods in years left more than 300 people dead and thousands homeless.
The country's main newspapers lambasted the central government and local authorities for failing to take action to ease the impact of the disaster despite severe weather warnings from meterologists. Headlines screamed "Criminal negligence," "Carelessness" and "Desertion of duty."
The cabinet was due to implement a crisis plan to mobilize the central and local governments in an effort to provide shelter, food and other aid to flood victims and restore damaged roads and other infrastructure.
Interior Minister Noureddine Zerhouni has called for international aid, saying the North African country faced a "national catastrophe" following the heavy rain and strong gales Friday and Saturday.
Rescue workers said Algiers, with a population of 3.5 million, bore the brunt of the disaster. At least 224 people were reported to have died in the city, 60 of them in the Bab el Oued neighborhood in central Algiers.
"Bab el Oued was the most damaged area in Algiers as the neighborhood is located at the foot of a hill. Water streamed down the hill and swamped the area," one resident said.
Rescue workers said victims had been buried under the rubble of their collapsed homes, hit by falling trees and power lines or died in car accidents.
At least 300 people have also been reported injured and some 5,500 families left homeless.
Meteorologists forecast no let up in the bad weather before Tuesday. "It was the worst flooding in at least two decades," one added.
Algiers residents said the center of the city was effectively cut off from the suburbs Sunday, but that a number of schools, shops, government offices, banks and other businesses had reopened.
"It was hard for many people to reach central Algiers today, especially for those living in the suburbs, because most of the roads were damaged and the continuing rain made the situation worse," said a resident.
PAPERS SLAM GOVERNMENT
National newspapers Sunday lambasted the government, saying meterologists had warned of the heavy rains.
"The reality of the disaster showed a decaying country and leaders who do not care whether a citizen dies from natural catastrophes, terrorism or other calamities," said Le Jeune Independent daily in an editorial.
The word "terrorism" is used by the media to refer to a bloody insurgency which has been led by Islamic rebels since 1992 in a bid to topple the army-backed government. More than 100,000 people have died in the conflict according to official figures.
"No warning to the population was raised and no measure to limit the impact of the disaster was taken... The authorities showed unbelievable negligence," the influential El Watan newspaper added.
Liberte daily asked: "Who will have the courage to shoulder the responsibility for all these victims and the damage?"
L'Expression daily said many people in Algiers were asking the same question: "Why all this carelessness, this contempt for the citizens?" Among the dead reported outside Algiers were five people in the Tipaza area 40 miles west of the capital, rescue workers said. The flooding left at least three dead in Ain Temouchent, 260 miles west of Algiers, they said, adding other deaths were reported in the western city of Oran, about 220 miles from Algiers.
