Floods in Libya: more than 1,000 bodies discovered, 10,000 missing

2023-09-12 10:25:57

September 12, 2023
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Storm Daniel, which has caused serious flooding in northeastern Libya for two days, could have left at least 2,000 dead and thousands missing.

Floods caused by torrential rains caused an “enormous” number of deaths which could be numbered in the thousands and 10,000 missing, in eastern Libyahit in turn by storm Daniel after Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, said Tuesday an official from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The results remain uncertain, said Tamer Ramadan, during the regular UN press briefing in Geneva. “We do not have final figures” on the number of deaths at the moment, he said, stressing that “the number of missing is close to 10,000.

In Shahat, as elsewhere in northeastern Libya, roads were partially destroyed by Storm Daniel.
©REUTERS

Speaking on the Almasar channel, the head of the executive in eastern Libya, Osama Hamad, put forward the figures for “more than 2,000 dead and thousands missing” in the town of Derna alonebut no medical source or emergency services have confirmed this toll.

“State of maximum alert”

Daniel hit eastern Libya on Sunday afternoon, notably the coastal towns of Jabal al-Akhdar (north-east), but also Benghazi where a curfew was declared and schools were closed.

The east of the country is home to the main oil fields and terminals. The National Oil Company (NOC) has declared a “state of maximum alert” and “suspended flights” between production sites where activity has been drastically reduced.

Storm Daniel particularly hit the coastal city of Benghazi, where a curfew was declared and schools were closed.
©AFP

Derna under the waters

Rescue teams were dispatched on Sunday to Herea city located 900 km east of Tripoli and 300 km east of Benghazi, which was partially destroyed during violent clashes in 2018.

With a population of more than 100,000 inhabitantsthe coastal city is crossed by a wadi (river) which flows into the Mediterranean and which overflowed because of the storm about fifty meters on each side, carrying away buildings and houses in its path, according to videos broadcast by the media. Dams upstream of the Mediterranean city have also brokencausing serious flooding.

In Derna, the river overflowed due to the storm, sweeping away cars, buildings and houses in its path.
©AFP

The situation in Derna is “catastrophic” and requires “national and international intervention”, according to a municipal council official.
©AFP

Call for international aid

Hundreds of residents are still stranded in hard-to-reach areas while rescue teams, supported by the army, try to help them. Footage shot by residents of eastern towns, such as Derna, al-Bayda, and small towns, shows d‘impressive mudslides and entire neighborhoods underwater, as well as collapsed roads and buildings.

A Derna municipal council official described the situation in his town as “catastrophic”, “out of control” and requiring “national and international intervention”in statements to the local channel Libya al-Ahrar.

On Monday, Presidential Council (PC) head Mohamad al-Manfi called for “help from brotherly and friendly countries and international organizations” and officially declared the eastern towns of Derna, Shahat and al-Bayda Libya “disaster areas”, according to a press release on Facebook. He reported thecollapse of four main bridges and two buildings as well as the city’s two dams.

Aerial view of the waters covering the town of Shahhat, home to the ancient site of Cyrene.
©REUTERS

A divided country

Boasting the most abundant oil reserves in Africa, Libya has been plunged into chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011 and shaken by divisions and violence. For a year and a half, two governments have been competing for power there: that of Abdelhamid Dbeibah in the west, recognized by the UN, and that appointed by Parliament and supported by Marshal Haftar.

During an extraordinary council of ministers broadcast live on television on Monday, Mr. Dbeibah announced “three days of national mourning”emphasizing “the unity of all Libyans” in the face of this catastrophe.