(Dan Tri) – Heavy rain caused dam failures and flash floods, killing more than 5,000 people in Libya and at least 10,000 missing.
Flash floods wiped out a quarter of the Libyan city of Derna (Photo: AP).
Reuters on September 13 quoted Mr. Hichem Abu Chkiouat, Minister of Civil Aviation of the Eastern Libyan government, as saying that so far more than 5,300 people have been confirmed to have died in the flash flood earlier this week.
`Ocean waves continuously pushed dozens of bodies ashore,` he said.
More than 5,000 people have died due to floods in Libya, this number could reach 10,000 or even 20,000 people (Photo: Reuters).
Meanwhile, Mr. Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi, Mayor of Derna city, the place most affected by flash floods, predicted that the number of deaths could reach 18,000 to 20,000 people based on the number of localities affected by flash floods.
Tariq Kharaz, spokesman for the eastern Libyan government, said authorities have currently collected about 3,200 bodies, of which 1,100 have not been identified.
The city of Derna, which had about 125,000 people, was wiped out by about a quarter.
Mohamad al-Qabisi, director of a local hospital, said about 1,700 people in two districts of the city died, while another district recorded 500 deaths.
`Bodies were everywhere, on the beach, in the valley, in the buildings. I’m not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city was wiped out. Many, many buildings collapsed,` he said.
Floods swept everything out to sea (Photo: Reuters).
Mostafa Salem, 39 years old, a resident of Derna, said he lost 30 relatives.
Another local resident named Raja Sassi also shared that he, his wife and their young daughter were lucky to survive while the other members died.
Other cities in eastern Libya, including Benghazi, were also affected by flooding.
Tamer Ramadan, head of delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, assessed that the death toll would be `huge`.
Storm Daniel brought heavy rain and caused flash floods in several northeastern Libyan cities earlier this week.
`The situation is more serious and worse than we predicted. We need international support,` Othman Abduljaleel, Minister of Health of the Eastern Libyan government, emphasized.
Rescue forces from several countries in the region, including Egypt and Türkiye, have arrived in Libya to participate in rescue efforts.
