10,000 People Are Missing And Thousands Are Feared Dead As Eastern Libya Is Devastated By Floods

CAIRO, Egypt  – On Tuesday, emergency personnel discovered hundreds of victims in the debris of Libya’s eastern city of Derna, and it was feared that the death toll could rise further, with 10,000 people still missing after floodwaters crashed through dams and carried away entire neighborhoods.

The unexpected mortality and damage caused by the Mediterranean storm Daniel revealed the storm’s ferocity and the vulnerability of a nation torn apart by anarchy for more than a decade. The country is divided by competing governments, one in the east and one in the west, and as a result, infrastructure in many parts needs to be addressed.

On Tuesday, more than 36 hours after the accident, outside assistance was only beginning to arrive in Derna. The floods damaged or destroyed many access roads to the seaside city of 89,000 people.

Several victims were seen covered in blankets in the yard of one hospital. Another image depicted a mass cemetery overflowing with bodies. More than 1,000 bodies were gathered, with at least 700 buried so far, according to the health minister for eastern Libya. According to the ambulance authorities, the current death toll in Derna is 2,300.

According to Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the death toll is expected to be in the thousands. He told a United Nations briefing in Geneva via videoconference from Tunisia that at least 10,000 individuals were unaccounted for.

Ramadan described Libya as “as devastating as the situation in Morocco,” alluding to the tragic earthquake that struck near the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Friday night.

On Sunday night, the destruction descended on Derna and other sections of eastern Libya. Residents of Derna said they heard tremendous booms as the storm hit the coast and realized dams outside the city had collapsed. Flash floods swept down Wadi Derna, a river that flows from the highlands through the city and into the sea.

Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Local emergency responders, including troops, government personnel, volunteers, and citizens, sifted through the wreckage on Tuesday in search of the deceased. Inflatable boats were also used to recover bodies from the water.

Many dead were reported to be trapped under rubble or washed out into the Mediterranean Sea, according to Othman Abduljaleel, the health minister for eastern Libya.

“We were stunned by the amount of destruction… the tragedy is very significant, and beyond the capacity of Derna and the government,” Abduljaleel said by phone from Derna to The Associated Press.

On Tuesday morning, Red Crescent crews from other parts of Libya arrived in Derna, but extra excavators and other equipment had yet to arrive.

Flooding occurs frequently in Libya during the wet season, although rarely with this much devastation. A crucial concern was whether the rains could break through two dams outside Derna due to inadequate maintenance or the sheer volume of rain.

According to Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist and meteorologist at Leipzig University, Daniel quickly poured 440 millimeters (15.7 inches) of rain on eastern Libya.

“The infrastructure could probably not cope,” he said, adding that human-caused rises in ocean surface temperatures likely contributed to the storm’s ferocity.

Local officials have ignored Derna for many years. “Even the aspect of maintenance was simply missing.” “Everything kept getting pushed back,” said Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London specializing in Libya.

Many dead were reported to be trapped under rubble or washed out into the Mediterranean Sea, according to Othman Abduljaleel, the health minister for eastern Libya.

Factionalism is also a factor. For many years, Islamic extremist groups ruled over Derna. After months of hard urban battle, military leader Khalifa Hifter, the strongman of the east Libyan government, conquered the city in 2019.

Since then, the eastern government has been wary of the city and has worked to exclude its citizens from decision-making, according to Harchaoui. “This mistrust could be disastrous during the upcoming post-disaster period,” he said.

Hifter’s eastern administration, based in Benghazi, is at odds with the western government, headquartered in Tripoli. Each is supported by formidable militias as well as international forces. Egypt, Russia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates back Hifter, while Turkey, Qatar, and Italy back the west Libya authority.

Nonetheless, the first reaction to the calamity resulted in some division crossing.

The Western Libyan administration, based in Tripoli, dispatched a plane carrying 14 tonnes of medical supplies and health staff to Benghazi. It also stated that it had set aside $412 million for rehabilitation in Derna and other eastern municipalities. Airplanes delivering humanitarian aid and rescue teams from Egypt, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates landed in Benghazi on Tuesday. Egypt’s military chief of staff also met with Hifter to discuss relief coordination.

Given the realities on the ground, it was unclear how quickly supplies could be delivered to Derna, 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Benghazi. Derna municipal administrator Ahmed Amdourd has called for a sea corridor to transfer relief and supplies.

U.S. Special Envoy for Libya Richard Norland stated on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter that the U.S. is cooperating with the U.N. and local authorities to determine the best way to target official U.S. support.

The storm also hit other parts of eastern Libya, notably Bayda, where 50 people were killed. According to footage released by the Medical Centre of Bayda on Facebook, the main hospital was inundated, and patients had to be evacuated.

According to the administration, other towns that suffered included Susa, Marj, and Shahatt. Hundreds of people were uprooted and sought refuge in schools and other government buildings in Benghazi and other parts of eastern Libya.

Northeast Libya is one of the country’s most fertile and green areas. According to the World Bank, the Jabal al-Akhdar region, which includes Bayda, Marj, and Shahatt, has one of the highest average annual rainfalls in the country.

SOURCE – (AP)