The number of people missing due to the floods in Libya is around 10,000 people, while the dead already exceed 2,000, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) stated this Monday.
“We do not have a definitive balance” on the number of deaths, but “the number of missing is around 10,000,” said the head of the International Federation, Tamer Ramadan, at a press conference held in Geneva, Switzerland.
“The humanitarian needs far exceed the capabilities of the Libyan Red Crescent and even the capabilities of the Government,” explained Ramadan, who spoke live from Tunisia.
“That is why the Government launched an appeal for international aid and soon we will also launch an emergency appeal,” he stated.
Storm Daniel hit eastern Libya on Sunday afternoon, specifically the coastal cities of Jabal al-Akhdar (northeast) and Benghazi, where a curfew was declared and schools were closed.
Described by experts as an “extreme phenomenon in terms of the amount of water that fell”, Storm Daniel has also caused at least 27 deaths in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria.
Eastern Libya is home to important oil fields and terminals. The National Oil Company (NOC) declared a “state of maximum alert” and “flights suspended” between production centers where activity has been drastically reduced.
Benghazi, the country’s fourth city, with almost 120,000 inhabitants, is currently isolated by land after the destruction of its roads and bridges due to torrential rains, and is also without electricity or communications.
Two of its dams collapsed on Monday, releasing a total of 33 million cubic meters of water and leaving behind entire residential areas, prompting local authorities to create a field hospital.
According to the Libyan National Meteorological Center, rainfall exceeded 400 milliliters per hour, a figure that had not been recorded for four decades.
Source: TSF
