At least seven people have died and three are missing in floods caused by torrential rains that hit northwestern Algeria, Civil Protection announced on Sunday (March 7th).
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Seven victims: three men, two women, a five-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were in three vehicles which were washed away on Saturday by the flooding of a wadi in the Chlef region, Civil Protection said. in a statement The Algerian rescue service said it was looking for three other people including a child who were on board the third vehicle swept away by the waters.
The body of the driver of this third vehicle was found on Sunday.
More than 300 Civil Protection agents were deployed to intervene during these floods which affected several wilayas (prefectures) of the country.
Several roads and a section of the east-west highway were closed due to inclement weather, according to the official APS agency.
The national meteorological office issued a special weather report (BMS) forecasting new stormy rains on Sunday over several departments in northern Algeria, with a cumulative rainfall that could exceed 30 millimeters in 24 hours.