Flood Losses Estimated at $ 250 Mln

The floods that hit northern Algeria over the past days have inflicted losses estimated at 20 billion algerian dinars, equivalent to 250 million u.s. dollars, interior minister yazid zarhouni said on Saturday.

The death toll of the floods, caused by torrential rain and gales, has reached 722, including 672 in the Algerian capital, the minister said.

The floods have wounded 423 people. workers are searching for 168 people who have gone missing since the downpours formed raging waters and spread mud on large areas.

Army troops, using bulldozers, have been struggling to locate survivors or dead bodies in the badly-ravaged bab al-wad district in Algiers, one of the hardest hit locations.

The natural disaster is the worst since 1980, when an earthquake took the lives of 4,000 people.