Floods in Libya destroy a fourth of the city, leaving thousands dead
According to Reuters, more than 2,000 people have died, while eastern Libya officials cited by local television were estimating a toll above 5,000.
Libya a country in North Africa facing a massive Mediterranean storm that burst dams, swept away houses, and destroyed the eastern coastal city of Derna causing thousands of people to perish and at least 10,000 to go missing. According to Reuters, more than 2,000 people have died, while eastern Libya officials cited by local television were estimating a toll above 5,000.
According to the head of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Libya, the death toll from the catastrophic floods is “huge” and could approach thousands of people. Approximately 10,000 individuals are believed to be missing.
Libyan Minister:25% of City Gone, Predicts Over 2,500 Deaths
Hichem Chkiouat, a Libyan minister of civil aviation and member of the emergency committee, told Reuters by phone that bodies were lying everywhere, including in the water, in valleys, and beneath houses.
He said, “I returned from Derna. It is very disastrous. Bodies are lying everywhere – in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings.”
“I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city has disappeared. Many, many buildings have collapsed,” he added. Later, he added to Al Jazeera, that he predicted that there would be more than 2,500 fatalities nationwide. An estimated 20,000 individuals have been relocated, citing the media source.
After Storm Daniel blew through the Mediterranean over the weekend, several nations, including Libya, saw major flooding and strong winds over the last two days. The storm also affected other eastern cities, including Benghazi, the second-largest city in Libya.
According to the Tripoli-based government emergency services official, Osama Ali, more than 2,300 people have been killed in Derna alone. According to AFP, Ali’s team, which is alleged to have been working in Derna since Monday (Sep 11), also stated that more than 5,000 people were still unaccounted for and that nearly 7,000 people had been hurt by the force of floodwaters that poured down a typically dry river valley.
IFRC leader:10,000 missing people confirmed
The leader of an IFRC team, Tamer Ramadan, spoke at a press conference in Geneva via video link from Tunisia and stated, “We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 so far.”
The leader of an IFRC team, Tamer Ramadan, spoke at a press conference in Geneva via video link from Tunisia and stated, “We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 so far.”
As many as 2,084 deaths have been reported, according to Taqfiq Shukri, spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent.
Naval personnel were looking for the “many families that were swept into the sea in the city of Derna,” a spokesperson for the interior ministry told Al Jazeera.
Witnesses describe the devastation
Mostafa Salem,30, of Derna, speaking to Reuters, said 30 of his relatives had died. “Most people were sleeping. Nobody was ready.
Raja Sassi, a 39-year-old survivor, claimed that as the water reached a higher story, only he, his wife, and their little daughter were able to escape the flood while the rest of his family perished. Sassi said, “At first we just thought it was heavy rain but at midnight we heard a huge explosion and it was the dam bursting,”
Reuters reported, that Karim al-Obaidi, a passenger on a plane from Tripoli to the east, said: “I have never felt as frightened as I do now … I lost contact with all my family, friends and neighbours.”
Global Aid rushes to Derna amid crisis
Teams of emergency responders have been mobilized, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to assist on the ground.
Distressed Derna residents rushed home in search of loved ones while Turkey and other nations rushed supplies to Libya, including search and rescue trucks, rescue boats, generators, and food.
Since a 2011 NATO-backed revolt that sparked years of factional conflict, Libya has been politically divided between the East and West, and public services have crumbled.
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