Khaberni - The night from Saturday to Sunday turned into a "night of terror" for the residents of several Algerian states, following heavy rains that caused flooding and raging torrents, resulting in deaths and injuries. The civil defense services recorded five deaths, including two children and an infant, due to floods resulting from heavy rains in the states of Djelfa, M'Sila, and Bordj Bou Arreridj, and other areas in the east and south of the country.
Residents of these areas experienced terrifying moments as they tried to save their lives and property, while citizens volunteered to assist the specialized services including civil protection and ambulance personnel in rescuing people, especially since the floods swept many away and the toll could have been greater without everyone's help.
Algerians followed these severe moments through videos and even live streaming on "Facebook" and "TikTok", showing videos of how the torrential floods swept away people and property and inundated streets in M'Sila where citizens climbed to higher ground to avoid the sweeping torrents. Another video shows how the floods entered homes in Zamora, Bordj Bou Arreridj in Eastern Algeria, and another video transferred scenes of residents helping civil protection services in rescuing people surrounded by water on all sides.
This event has sparked controversy again in Algeria about responsibility, where many attributed it to the negligence of some people in disposing of trash which clogs the drains, a scenario that repeats at the beginning of every season. One person said: "We must learn lessons from these floods which are taking lives and sweeping away properties", while another said: "Associations and civil society must organize campaigns like those organized in some neighborhoods and regions to clean drains as autumn approaches every year", but others blamed the local authorities who were required to clean the drains and anticipate these events: "Where were the municipalities from what happened? The meteorological service had warned of heavy rainfall, states of emergency should have been declared to avoid victims."
"Its impacts could have been avoided"
In this context, the specialist in major risks, Said Sadi, stated that many countries are threatened by the risk of floods, due to several factors including natural ones, like the climate changes that are now threatening the world."
According to the speaker in his statement to "Al-Arabiya.net", "Algeria is no exception, where more than 35 provinces from all the regions are threatened by floods, including half of the nation's municipalities, most of which are built over active valleys that can be fed by the fall of large amounts of rain, in addition to other factors including fragile urban planning."
Therefore, the speaker called for "declaring emergencies in urban areas that lie beneath active valleys, where a clear plan must be adopted to protect the residents from the risk of floods, and be more vigilant with meteorological agency warnings."
Regarding the rains that fell at the end of the week, Sadi clarified that they "were not intense yet they caused disasters and deaths, which requires us to consider the scenario of large amounts of rain falling and expect the worst."
In the same vein, the weather specialist, Rabeh Qadi revealed that "other atmospheric disturbances are expected this week starting from nine o'clock Sunday evening, in several provinces from the west and southwest."
The speaker in his statement to "Al-Arabiya.net," informed that these are "the western provinces: Saida, Tlemcen, Mascara, Relizane, Sidi Bel Abbes, and the southwestern: Naama, El Bayadh, Tiaret and Tissemsilt," where rain will be accompanied by lightning and thunder, while the weather will return to stability in other provinces, including those in the south, according to Qadi, who explained that "the weather will be sunny with thunderstorms recorded in the extreme south on Sunday evening, and the same applies to the northern and coastal areas."
The Ministry of Interior investigates
For his part, the Algerian Minister of Interior and Local Communities, Said Saioud, held a meeting on Sunday afternoon, "to study the effects of weather changes and prevent floods", where a statement from the ministry mentioned that "the sector's chief ordered immediate inspection operations and in-depth technical expertise under the supervision of the General Inspectorate and the National Delegate for Major Risks as well as the National Office of Meteorology to determine the actual causes behind the recorded effects, in addition to verifying the extent of precautionary measures previously emphasized and precisely determining responsibilities."
The statement also informed that the official "emphasized the necessity to strictly address all forms of negligence or laxity and activate the role of local vigilance committees to monitor weather changes at the level of provinces".
