ALGIERS, Nov 10: Floods and strong gales lashing Algeria have left at least 300 people dead and many others homeless, rescue workers and officials said on Saturday.

The sweeping rains and heavy winds on Friday and Saturday wreaked havoc in the capital Algiers, where at least 210 people lost their lives, including at least 60 in the working-class Bab el Oued neighbourhood.

“Bab el Oued was the most damaged area in Algiers as the neighbourhood is located at the foot a hill. Water streamed down the hill and swamped the area,” a resident said.

Nine more people died in three other provinces affected by the flooding, rescue workers said.

In the capital, the rushing water washed away roads and uprooted trees and power poles.

Rail services halted and almost all government offices and businesses closed on Saturday, a working day in the North African country, as rising waters prevented workers from leaving their homes, residents said.

Many of the victims were crushed under the rubble of their homes which collapsed in the heavy rains. Others drowned, died in road accidents, or were hit by falling trees and electricity poles, residents and rescue workers said.

Trains stopped running between Algiers and the countryside after high water levels flooded the city’s two main train stations, residents said.

Officials said it was too early to give an assessment of the damage to the country’s basic infrastructure, but the floods were likely to compound the country’s housing crisis as many were made homeless.

Parliament, due to debate the government’s policy record over the past 12 months, also closed as most deputies were unable to reach the building in central Algiers, members said.

Outside the capital, five people died in the Tipaza area, 60kms west of Algiers, and at least one died in the Western city of Oran, about 360kms from Algiers, rescue workers said.

Three others lost their lives in Ain Temouchent, 410 km west of Algiers, they added.—Reuters