By Adel Elthabty and Tarek Chouiref
TUNIS, Tunisia / ISTANBUL (AA) – Severe flooding across northern and eastern Tunisia has killed at least five people, left several others missing and caused widespread disruption to transport and public services since early this week, authorities and experts said.
Heavy rainfall beginning late Monday led to rising water levels in multiple cities, paralyzing traffic, suspending classes in several provinces and prompting emergency interventions by civil protection teams.
Four of the fatalities were reported in the coastal city of Moknine in Monastir province, while a fifth person died in the town of El Haouaria in Nabeul province, according to official figures.
Search operations are ongoing for four fishermen who went missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Monastir.
The fishermen had departed from the port of Teboulba on Monday morning before being caught by sudden and severe weather conditions. One fisherman survived and managed to reach the shores of the Kuriat Islands, around 15 kilometers offshore.
- Major disruptions
The extreme weather caused major disruptions to daily life, with public transport suspended in parts of the capital after floodwaters submerged roads and tram lines. Authorities also suspended classes on Tuesday and Wednesday in 15 of Tunisia’s 24 provinces, citing safety concerns and transportation difficulties.
Civil protection teams, supported by the army, were deployed to clear roads, pump floodwater from residential areas and assist affected residents.
Climate researcher Amer Bahba said the flooding was caused by a powerful desert low-pressure system, describing it as one of the strongest Tunisia has experienced in decades.
Speaking to Anadolu, Bahba compared the system to the historic floods of 1969, which killed more than 540 people, destroyed over 70,000 homes and displaced nearly 300,000 others.
He said the system formed in southern Tunisia before moving northward toward the Gulf of Gabes and the eastern coastline, eventually reaching the Strait of Sicily. Warm sea temperatures, he explained, intensified atmospheric instability, producing dense storm clouds and exceptionally heavy rainfall.
Bahba stressed that the event does not meet the scientific criteria of a Mediterranean cyclone, as it lacked “a defined eye,” despite the strength of the winds and precipitation.
Some areas recorded more than 300 millimeters of rain over two days, with at least one private weather station reporting totals exceeding 400 millimeters, he added.
While additional low-pressure systems are expected later this week, Bahba said they are forecast to be less intense, with rainfall concentrated mainly in northwestern regions and unlikely to cause widespread flooding.
- Environmental damage
As conditions worsened, President Kais Saied conducted field visits to flood-hit areas in Ben Arous, Nabeul and Monastir provinces. He inspected emergency operations, followed efforts to reopen roads and met with families of the victims. Saied also visited the port of Teboulba to meet relatives of the missing fishermen.
Environmental engineer Hamdi Hachad said the floods caused significant ecological damage, including soil erosion and harm to green areas.
Coastal erosion was also reported in several cities, particularly Hammamet, Nabeul and Monastir, where seawater advanced noticeably inland, he told Anadolu.
Hachad said accumulated waste, especially plastic debris, clogged drainage systems and worsened flooding, criticizing weak early warning systems and communication failures that limited timely alerts to residents.
He added that the scale of the damage reflects not only extreme weather conditions but also structural vulnerabilities, including inadequate urban planning and insufficient preparedness in densely populated coastal areas.
- Limited capabilities
Mohamed Dagheem, head of the regional farmers’ union in Monastir, said search efforts are continuing for the four missing fishermen, with authorities intensifying maritime patrols despite challenging conditions.
Mazem Mekdish, a fisherman and local union leader in Monastir, said crews avoided sailing during the storm and took precautionary measures to protect their boats.
“Rescue capabilities are limited even in normal conditions,” he said, noting that operations become far more difficult during strong storms.
Several foreign diplomatic missions in Tunisia announced temporary closures due to the severe weather, postponing appointments and passport services. The affected missions include the embassies of Germany, the Netherlands, Egypt and Canada, as well as the French consulate.