Rescuers are struggling amid the destruction in eastern Libya, pulling hundreds of bodies from the rubble of a coastal town that has been inundated by devastating floods, a humanitarian agency said on Tuesday.
The authorities estimate that 2,000 people are believed to have died in the city of Derna alone.
Mediterranean storm Daniel caused havoc and flash floods in many towns in eastern Libya but the worst destruction was in Derna, where heavy rains and floods broke dams and washed away entire neighborhoods, authorities said.
Tamer Ramadan, Libya’s envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said 10,000 people were missing after the unprecedented flooding.
Speaking to reporters at a UN briefing in Geneva via video conference from Tunisia, he said the death toll was “many” and expected to reach thousands in the coming days.
Captures from a video released by the Libyan Red Crescent on September 11, 2023, reportedly show members of their team rescuing people from floods in an unspecified location in eastern Libya. Libyan Red Crescent/AFP via Getty Images
Speaking about the fallout from Friday’s devastating earthquake in Morocco, across North Africa, Ramadan said the situation in Libya was “as bad as the situation in Morocco.”
Ossama Hamad, the prime minister of the government in eastern Libya, said that many of the missing were believed to have been taken away after two upstream dams burst.
He said, the destruction in Derna was far beyond the capabilities of his country.
Streets can be seen flooded after storm Daniel hit Marj, Libya, on September 11, 2023.AP
After more than a decade of chaos, Libya remains divided between two rival administrations: one in the east and one in the west, each supported by different militias and foreign governments.
The conflict has left the oil-rich North African nation with crumbling and inadequate infrastructure.
The Libyan Red Crescent said early Tuesday that its forces counted more than 300 people killed in Derna, which authorities have declared a disaster zone.
A handout photo provided by the interim prime minister’s office based in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2023, shows a vehicle overturned by a building in the eastern city of Derna. Libyan Press Office Perdana/AFP via Getty Images
More bodies were still under rubble in the city’s neighborhoods, or washed out to sea, according to eastern Libya’s health minister, Othman Abduljaleel.
Residents of Derna posted videos online showing the massive destruction.
Entire residential blocks are erased along the Wadi Derna, a river that flows from the mountains through the city center.
This image taken from a video provided by Libya Almasar TV shows flooding in Marj, Libya, on September 11, 2023. AP
The high-rise apartment building that once stood upright behind the river partially crumbled into the mud.
Abduljaleel said the city was inaccessible and bodies were scattered around the world, according to the Libyan government news agency.
He said there was no exact death toll as of Monday night in Derna, but the number was expected to exceed 2,000 as search teams combed through the rubble.
Destroyed vehicles and damaged buildings are seen in the eastern city of Derna in the wake of Mediterranean storm “Daniel.” Libya Prime Press Office/AFP via Getty Images
“The situation is more significant and worse than we expected. … International intervention is needed,” he was quoted as saying.
Emergency personnel, including soldiers, government workers, volunteers and residents are digging through the rubble to recover victims.
They also used inflatable boats to retrieve bodies from the water.
Excavators and other equipment have not yet arrived in Derna.
Many residents described the chaos when the flood hit the center.
They heard loud explosions at night and realized that a dam outside the city had collapsed, sending a wall of water that “extinguished everything in its path,” said Ahmed Abdalla, a resident of Derna.
People stand on a damaged road after a strong storm and heavy rain hit the city of Shahhat, Libya, on September 11, 2023. REUTERS
Workers said they buried more than 200 bodies in one cemetery on Monday.
Footage overnight showed dozens more bodies on the ground, covered with blankets or sheets, in the courtyard of a hospital in Derna.
The storm hit other areas in eastern Libya, including the town of Bayda, where about 50 people were reported killed.
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Bayda Medical Center, the main hospital, was flooded and patients had to be evacuated, according to footage shared by the center on Facebook.
Other cities that have suffered include Susa, Marj and Shahatt, according to the government.
Hundreds of families were displaced and took shelter in schools and other government buildings in the city of Benghazi and elsewhere in eastern Libya.
Northeastern Libya is one of the most fertile and green areas of the country.
The Jabal al-Akhdar region — where Bayda, Marj and Shahatt are located — has one of the highest average annual rainfalls in the country, according to the World Bank.
Authorities in eastern and western Libya rushed to help the people of Derna.
The Ministry of Health in Tripoli said a plane carrying 14 tonnes of medical equipment, medicines and body bags, along with health care workers headed to Benghazi on Tuesday.
Other agencies across the country said they would send humanitarian aid to Derna.
Foreign governments also sent messages of support to Libya.
An aerial view of floodwaters covering the area after a strong storm hit the city of Shahhat, Libya, is shown Sept. 11, 2023. REUTERS
Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are among those who have said they will send humanitarian aid and teams to help with search and rescue efforts.
The US embassy said on Monday it was contacting the United Nations and Libyan authorities about how to deliver aid to the most affected areas.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has summoned his army commanders on Tuesday to organize urgent aid to Libya.
He said in televised comments that the army would deploy equipment and personnel in coordination with the eastern Libyan army to help the affected communities.
Famous for its whitewashed houses and palm groves, Derna is located about 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.
It is controlled by the forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter, who is allied with the eastern Libyan government.
A rival government in western Libya, based in Tripoli, is allied with other armed groups.
Most of Derna was built by Italy when Libya was under Italian occupation in the first half of the 20th century.
The city has been a hub for extremist groups in years of turmoil following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
