November 15, 2001	Thursday	Shaba’an 28, 1422

ALGIERS, Nov 14: Rescuers feared the death toll from Algeria’s devastating flash floods could rise to 1,000 — nearly twice the current official toll — as emergency teams sifted on Wednesday through tonnes of thick mud and debris.

Another 75 bodies were found between Tuesday night and Wednesday under 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 neighbourhood, the Civil Defence said.

The official death toll stood at 651 nationwide, including 604 in the capital alone, and 318 injured, according to Interior Ministry figures released by the official APS news agency.

But an unofficial count had at least 693 killed and rescuers and local newspapers said 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.

A Civil Defence officer, asked about the number of missing reported by the media, told Reuters in Bab el Oued: “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 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 (ex-El Asnam) killing 1,500 people.

A downpour last Friday and Saturday set off torrents of raging muddy waters that ripped through poor neighbourhoods, collapsing buildings and overturning cars.

NO SNIFFER DOGS: Thousands of families were made homeless by the floods, which ironically followed a prolonged drought that had forced water rationing in Algiers since mid-October.

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 from Wednesday night until Friday.

The lack of adequate heavy equipment and apparent disorganisation slowed search and rescue operations.

“How do you want us to work when you have hundreds of people wandering around the (disaster) site,” a Civil Defence officer said..—Reuters