The European Union (EU) announced this Monday an increase of 5.2 million euros in humanitarian aid to Libya after the devastating floods caused by Storm Daniel in the east of the country, which killed more than 11,000 people.
The funds will be channeled, according to a statement from the European Commission, through the EU’s humanitarian partners active in the country, allowing them to reinforce aid by focusing on shelter, health, food, water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as in protection.
To date, the EU has made available €5.7 million, in addition to technical and material assistance sent through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The Libyan Red Crescent said on Thursday that 11,300 people had died in Derna (eastern Libya) and another 10,100 were missing.
Mediterranean Storm Daniel caused devastating flooding in many cities in eastern Libya on September 11, but the destruction was worst in the coastal city of Derna, where entire neighborhoods disappeared after two dams collapsed.
The prime minister of eastern Libya’s government, Ossama Hamad, said many of the missing were swept away after the two dams collapsed, 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, before reaching Libya.
Source: TSF
