At least 29 killed in southern Algeria floods

Algiers, Oct 2 (DPA) At least 29 people have died and more than 80 were injured in floods in the southern Algerian region of Ghardaia, some 600 km south of the capital Algiers, the web site Everything about Algeria reported Thursday.

Army units have been deployed in the area to help the families displaced by the storms, and the government has set up a crisis unit to deal with the disaster.

Helicopters were being used to rescue hundreds of people stranded in flooded areas after streams rapidly overflowed their banks due to the unusually strong downpour.