The European Union (EU) announced this Thursday new emergency aid to Libya, in response to the devastation caused by the passage of Storm Daniel in the east of the country, with fatalities amounting to 20,000.
Through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, a medical team of 53 people, provided by France, shelters, heavy machinery, a diving team, with two zodiacs and two search and rescue helicopters – all sent by Italy -, and a technical team with technical experts, including IT, logistics and mapping experts from the Netherlands, European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari announced today.
The EU had already sent shelters, generators, food, hospital tents and water containers, offered by Germany.
Added to all these goods and materials is an initial budget, announced on Wednesday, of 500,000 euros in emergency aid.
The death toll in the Libyan city of Derna (east) due to flooding between Sunday and Monday, following the passage of Storm Daniel, could rise to 20,000, according to a local mayor.
Mediterranean Storm Daniel caused devastating flooding in many cities in eastern Libya between Sunday night and Monday, but the destruction was worst in the coastal city of Derna, where entire neighborhoods disappeared after two dams collapsed.
The Prime Minister of Libya’s eastern government, Ossama Hamad, said many of the missing were swept away after the two dams collapsed on Monday, releasing a total of 33 million cubic meters of water.
Libya is mired in political chaos and torn by more than a decade of civil war after the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, in power from 1969 to 2011, which also contributed to this catastrophe, due to the lack of infrastructure maintenance.
The North African country is divided between two rival governments: the internationally recognized, UN-brokered administration based in the capital Tripoli in the west, and a separate administration in the flood-affected eastern region.
Mediterranean Storm Daniel formed on the 4th of this month and caused death and destruction in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey last week, before reaching Libya.
Source: TSF
