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| Deadly floods hit Algerian oasis | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Flash floods have killed at least 29 people in Ghardaia, an Algerian oasis town in the Sahara and a UN World Heritage site, officials say. | |
| Ali Belkhir, the head of public health at the health ministry, said a further 84 people had been injured. | Ali Belkhir, the head of public health at the health ministry, said a further 84 people had been injured. |
| Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni earlier told the official APS news agency that up to 600 homes had been inundated. | Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni earlier told the official APS news agency that up to 600 homes had been inundated. |
| The rains, which began on Tuesday, have cut gas and electricity in Ghardaia. | The rains, which began on Tuesday, have cut gas and electricity in Ghardaia. |
| The authorities say they have saved numerous people by helicopter and are helping those who are injured. | |
| Ghardaia is one of several fortified Berber medieval settlements about 600 kilometres (375 miles) south of the capital, Algiers. | |
| Heritage site | Heritage site |
| Mr Zerhouni also said food stocks in the town - home to around 100,000 people - had been flooded and probably made unfit to eat. | |
| Northern Algeria was hit by deadly floods in 2001 | |
| Ghardaia is the M'Zab valley, along a river bed which is dry most of the year and is listed as a UN World Heritage Site and frequented by European tourists. | |
| Algeria has been hit by several floods in recent years. | Algeria has been hit by several floods in recent years. |
| A 48-hour deluge in the north of the country in 2001 killed at least 700 people and injured hundreds more. | A 48-hour deluge in the north of the country in 2001 killed at least 700 people and injured hundreds more. |
| But deadly floods are rare in Ghardaia. | |
| Located at the edge of Algeria's desert, the town has a network of irrigation channels dating back centuries that distributes scarce seasonal rainfall. | |
| This week floods have caused problems elsewhere in North Africa. | |
| The Moroccan state press agency said two people were killed and one is still missing following torrential rains in the region of Marrakech. |