ALGIERS, Nov 11: Algerian Prime Minister Ali Benflis summoned his cabinet for an emergency meeting on Sunday as the worst floods in years killed 340 people so far and left thousands homeless.

“More than 300 people were killed in the disaster,” state-run radio reported, saying the death toll was likely to rise.

The cabinet was due to trigger a crisis plan to mobilize central and local government in an effort to provide shelters, food and other aid to flood victims and restore damaged roads and other infrastructure.

Interior Minister Noureddine Zerhouni called for international aid, saying the North African country was facing a “national catastrophe” following the heavy rain and strong gales on Friday and Saturday.

The water washed away roads, uprooted trees, brought down power cables and caused many homes to collapse, burying many of the dead under rubble.

At least 300 people were reported injured and at least 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 said.

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 neighbourhood in central Algiers.

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

Residents said Algiers was struggling on Sunday to resume some kind of normality with schools, shops, government offices, banks and other businesses opening.

“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.

Algiers was paralysed on Saturday, with rail services halted and almost all government offices and businesses closed.

Among the dead reported so far outside Algiers, five people died in the Tipaza area 60 kms west of Algiers, rescue workers said.

The flooding left at least three dead in Ain Temouchent, 410 kms west of Algiers, they said, adding other deaths were reported in the western city of Oran, about 360 kms from Algiers.

Rescue workers said the majority of the victims in Algiers and elsewhere died either under the rubble of their collapsed homes, were hit by falling trees and power lines or died in car accidents due to the bad weather. —Reuters