Six killed in Algeria floods

Six people including two children were killed in 48 hours as flash floods swept away their cars in heavy rainfall over northwest Algeria, rescue services announced on Thursday.

Civil defence spokesman Colonel Farouk Achour told AFP the children and a man died when a wadi flooded late Wednesday in the Tiaret region, 330 kilometres southwest of Algiers.

Three other people drowned on Tuesday night when a river burst its banks in Al Bayadh, 800 kilometres southwest of the capital.

Emergency services said they carried out several rescue operations for Tiaret residents stranded in their homes or cars.

Meanwhile in Egypt, torrential rains battered New Cairo, mainly its Fifth Settlement quarter, forcing power outages and stranded dozens inside cars for hours.