3 Dead as heavy rain continues lashing Tunisia

Heavy rainfall is still expected in most parts of the country The ministry of interiors in Tunisia announced that three people had died as heavy rains lashed majority of the country. The casualties were two young men and a woman aged between 19 and 50 who lost their lives after being washed out by the flood in Zwagha Valley of the Zaghwan governorate, 50 km. east the capital.       
"Civil defence individuals managed to lift up the bodies of the victims and rescued seven other people who were stuck in three vans drawn in water. Forces also drained water out of dozens of houses and stores in several places," said reports by state-owned television.
The report also added that a flood in Ein El Saboun valley washed out a 4×4 van with a man and his wife inside killing a woman, while two men died after riskily crossing Zwagha Valley.
The Interiors ministry said in its announcement: "Crisis Resistance and Rescue Committees in the governorates of Tunisia, Gandouba, Zaghwan, Ariana and Bin Arous are holding a broad-based meeting to take all necessary procedures to release the crisis and deal with the conditions that emerged after heavy rain fell on these regions. In addition, all units of civil defence declared a state of alert and raised its readiness for intervention and rescue, particularly in the affected cities, with speeds exceeding more than 180mph, prompting quick intervention in especially poor neighbourhoods to drain water out of houses and remove all barriers.”        
El Nufaida Airport is to remain shut until weather conditions improve.  
The official state newswire: "Huge amounts of rains fell into the departure lounge of the airport in the first floor of the airport after cleaning workers failed to drain it."   
Eight UK flights with 1129 tourists on board were rerouted to International El Minister Airport 150 km southeast of the capital.
According to a bulletin issued by the National Institution for Meteorological Observation, rainfall was recorded as 118 ml. at Bo Salim in Gandouba governorate (350 km. west of the capital), which bought about large amounts of water in major roads and a number of neighbourhoods in the capital’s suburbs.    
Several streets were drawn in the capital in poorer neighbourhoods because of the absence of drainage systems, while streets equipped with facilities were still flooded as the water exceeded the drain’s capacity.
An engineer at the National Institution for Meteorological Observation, Abd El Razek El Rahal, said: "After analysing the available data, we expect more heavy rain, especially in north governorates and coastal territories, while less rain will fall on the remaining regions of the states."
"In north and middle Tunisia, heavy rain is expected to fall and at a later time in the eastern parts of the country with fog as well, negatively affecting horizontal vision in limited territories. Wind speeds are set to increase over 70km per hour in coastal territories and thunderclouds are expected to appear," said El Rahal.
"From Monday night, a slight improvement in weather conditions is expected due to a turn in the direction of the trough towards the Mediterranean with rainfall in most of Tunisian cities," he added.   
Most inhabited regions are located near valleys that are very crowded, requiring careful treatment from the part of the National Committee for Crisis Resistance which held an emergency meeting on the same day for taking all required precautions and prevent any massive damage. A comprehensive plan is to be framed that distributes tasks and responsibilities and specifies points of intervention through coordination with the concerned bodies in the state, including those responsible for civil defence, equipping and farming works.        
Dust dams have been set up to prevent flooding.