Libyan authorities have prevented civilians from entering the city of Derna so that search teams can search buildings destroyed by floods for 10,100 residents still missing, after 11,300 people were reported dead.
The catastrophe that followed the collapse of two dams, due to heavy rains, with significant flooding in the eastern Libyan city, in the early hours of Monday, has demonstrated the intensity of the storm, but also the vulnerability of this rich state in oil. and divided since 2014 between rival governments to the east, in Benghazi, and to the west, in Tripoli, supported by various militias and international partners, respectively.
The city of Derna is governed by the eastern administration of Libya, supported by military commander Khalifa Hiftar.
Since then, as part of relief operations, it has been evacuated and only search and rescue teams are authorized to enter, announced the general director of the Ambulance and Emergency Service for eastern Libya, Salam al-Fergany.
The catastrophe gave rise to a rare unity as government agencies across Libya rushed to provide aid to affected areas, with the first humanitarian aid convoys arriving in Derna on Tuesday night.
Rescue teams’ efforts have been hampered by the destruction of several bridges.
The Libyan Red Crescent, the main humanitarian aid organization in Derna, said on Thursday that 11,300 people had died in the city and another 10,100 were missing.
Mediterranean Storm Daniel also killed about 170 people in other regions of the country.
The Minister of Health of Libya’s eastern executive, Othman Abduljaleel, stated that the burials carried out so far took place in mass graves on the outskirts of Derna and in neighboring towns and cities.
According to Abduljaleel, rescue teams are searching the destroyed buildings in the city center and divers are inspecting the coast.
Shortly after the storm hit the city on Sunday night, residents said they heard loud explosions as dams on the outskirts of the city collapsed.
The waters flooded the Wadi Derna, a valley that runs through the city, destroying buildings and sweeping people into the sea.
The head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Lori Hieber Girardet, told the Associated Press on Thursday that due to “years of chaos and conflict, Libyan government institutions are not functioning as they should.”
“The attention that should be paid to disaster management is not adequate,” he said.
Source: TSF
