Flash floods following torrential rain south of Algiers have killed at least 29 people, injured 48 and left one person missing, the interior ministry said Thursday, warning of higher casualties. Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni described them as the worst floods in a century. "Based on the over flight that we made, the toll unfortunately could be greater," Zerhouni told reporters, after meeting local authorities in the sodden Ghardaia region.
Rain has been falling since Monday in the region, which lies about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Algiers.
The government previously said 13 people had been killed in the floods, which have damaged at least 600 homes, many of them in oasis areas.
The wadis, or seasonal rivers, had filled up and spilled into the larger M'zab wadi river, which then flooded, sweeping away everything in its path.
The flooding has cut off roads and rendered telephone connections erratic.