The death toll from floods in the coastal city of Derna in Libya has risen to at least 2,300 people, local rescue services said on Tuesday. "We need more support to save lives".
10,000 people are missing in Libya after Cyclone Daniel
The death toll from floods in the coastal city of Derna in Libya has risen to at least 2,300 people, local rescue services said on Tuesday.
"We need more support to save lives because there are still people under the rubble and every minute counts," said Osama Ali, spokesman for the rescue service.
At least 2,300 people died in the flood in the coastal city of Derna, located in eastern Libya, and about seven thousand people were injured, said on Tuesday Osama Ali, spokesman for the rescue service subordinated to the government in Tripoli, which has been carrying out aid operations in Derna since Monday. This is the latest death toll from the storm that hit northeastern Libya on Sunday and Monday. Earlier, we reported that the bodies of a thousand people had been found in Derna alone.
As the Minister of Civil Aviation and member of the crisis committee Hichem Chkiouat said, the total number of people killed by water masses in the city of Derna is not yet possible to estimate. - I came back from Derna. It's disastrous. Bodies are lying everywhere – in the sea, in valleys, under buildings, Chkiouat said in a telephone interview with Reuters.
- I'm not exaggerating when I say that 25 percent of the city has disappeared. Many, many buildings collapsed – he reported.
Ali noted that apart from Derna, at least 65 people died in floods in other cities in northeastern Libya. His team has been participating in search and rescue operations since Monday. - We need more support to save lives because there are still people under the rubble and every minute counts, the spokesman emphasized.
As a result of the floods in Libya, 10,000 people have disappeared, said Tamer Ramadan, head of the Libyan mission within the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, on Tuesday morning.
"We can confirm from our independent sources that the number of missing people so far reaches 10,000", Ramadan told a news conference in Geneva.
The storm ruptured two dams located on the outskirts of Derna on the Wadi Derna River, which led to huge mudslides that destroyed bridges and carried away people.
The Libyan Ministry of Health, which is subordinate to the government in Tripoli, announced that a plane carrying 14 tons of medical equipment, medicines and body bags, which also included health workers, left on Tuesday for Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya, located on its eastern coast.
Turkey announced on Tuesday that it had sent three planes carrying humanitarian aid and rescue workers to Libya. Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates also declared help. The US Embassy in Libya said on Monday that it was in contact with the UN and the country's authorities to provide aid to the most devastated regions.
Floods and mudslides are a consequence of storms and heavy rainfall that occurred in the country due to the passing Daniel low pressure. The same element, also causing floods, affected Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria last week. A total of 27 people died in these countries.
The disaster hit Libyan coastal cities on Sunday afternoon, including Benghazi, the country's second largest city, where a curfew was introduced and schools were closed.
Three regions in Cyrenaica province, where Derna and Benghazi are located, have been declared disaster areas. Libya appeals for international help. Turkey announced on Tuesday that it had sent three planes carrying humanitarian aid and rescuers to the country.
Libya's parliament declared three days of national mourning on Monday.