Flash floods in Tunisia’s Cap Bon peninsula have killed at least five people, authorities said Sunday, as surging waters caused by heavy rains carried away homes, cars and chunks of road.
According to the Interior Ministry, a 60-year-old man had drowned near the town of Takilsa and another man was found dead in Bir Bouregba, close to the town of Hammamet.
Another teenager was electrocuted Sunday in Bou Argoub, 45 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Tunis.
And two sisters were swept away as they left work at a factory in Bou Argoub.
“They were trying to cross rising wadi waters to get back home,” Amir, a resident of the area, told AFP
Wadis are river beds that are usually dry but are meant to carry away seasonal rains.
“The wadis have been abandoned for decades — there is no maintenance,” he said, adding that the river beds are filled with trees, garbage and rubble.
Tunisian civil protection units and security forces helped 86 vehicles trapped on road and rescued a group of 25 Japanese tourists who were stranded near a beach area.
