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In recent years, the Saharan urban centers are particularly affected by natural disasters. They suffered all the more because neither the citizens nor the local authorities were prepared to deal with it, both physically and humanely. The floods that occurred at close intervals in 2004, 2008 and 2009 demonstrated that there were serious problems with the management of such a risk. The urban plans in force had not integrated this dimension and their lax application allowed the construction of housing, and sometimes even public facilities, in the floodplain. Because the Saharan regions are known for their aridity, unprepared officials can nevertheless be explained; but it is more difficult to understand the failures or dysfunctions that accompanied the reconstruction and relocation programs, even though the scale of the disaster quickly proved to be beyond the means of response of local authorities. The circumvention strategies systematically implemented by the “beneficiaries" of aid for the rehabilitation or reconstruction of their homes, as well as by those who obtained social housing to resettle their families, show the lack of consultation between citizens and the departments and administrations responsible. The bureaucratic functioning of the allocation of aid has caused considerable delays in the progress of the work. We wonder in the end about solutions that are conceivable in the short and medium terms to prevent risks whose frequency is likely to become larger, and the applicability, in the Algerian context, of these solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]