Torrential
rains and flooding in northeastern Tunisia have left at least four
dead, including two sisters, the interior ministry said Sunday.
A 60-year-old man drowned near the town of Takilsa, 60 kilometres (37
miles) east of the capital Tunis, and another man was found dead in Bir
Bouregba, close to the town of Hammamet, ministry spokesman Sofiene Zaag
told AFP.
In Bou Argoub, 45 kilometres southeast of the capital, two sisters were
swept away by flash floods as they left the factory where they worked,
Zaag said.All four died on Saturday.
Severe thunderstorms have hit the North African country since the middle
of last week, flooding roads and damaging property, sparking anger
against the authorities for allegedly failing to maintain drainage
systems.
Some areas on Saturday received as much as 197 mm (7.5 inches) of rainfall, half the country’s annual precipitation, Zaag said.
Videos posted to social networks showed surging waters carrying cars and pieces of road in the north of the Cape Bon peninsula.
Authorities took preventative measures in the Sahel region further south
in anticipation of further rains, but by Sunday they appeared to have
subsided.
The sun was out on Sunday and receding water levels meant most of the
area’s roads were passable by car, Zaag said, although the region’s
telephone networks were still largely out of service.
AFP
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