Storm Daniel roared across eastern Libya breaking two dams on the Wadi Derna River, drowning Derna with millions of cubic metres of water.
More than 3,000 people are believed to have died in devastating floods across eastern Libya, another 10,000 people are believed to be missing in the nation of North Africa. Images showed the area completely destroyed by the floodwaters, with vehicles, masonry, and other debris covering the sidewalks and entire buildings being washed away.
The health minister for the eastern government of Libya, Othman Abduljaleel, termed the situation “catastrophic.”
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Libya’s Tamer Ramadan told reporters stated the death toll is likely to be “huge.”
“Our teams on the ground are still doing their assessment,” he said, speaking via video link from nearby Tunisia. Right now, we lack a precise figure. 10,000 people have been reported missing as of now. The western city of Misrata was impacted by the floods, along with places in the east.
Since Col. Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s longtime leader, was ousted and killed in 2011, this nation has been in political turmoil. The oil-rich country is now virtually split into an interim, internationally recognised administration that operates out of Tripoli and another one in the east.
Search and rescue efforts are facing obstacles as a result, claims Libyan journalist Abdulkader Assad, because numerous organisations fail to react swiftly to a natural disaster.
