The toll of the catastrophe in Libya is increasing: thousands of dead, at least 10,000 missing

LibyaWhile about a quarter of the city of Derna was flooded after dams collapsed due to the hurricane in eastern Turkey, the Red Cross announced that 10,000 people may have lost their lives in the flood disaster.

While at least 1,000 bodies were unearthed in the city of Derna alone after Hurricane Daniel, authorities said the death toll could rise further.

A Reuters journalist traveling to Derna, a coastal city of about 125,000 people, saw overturned vehicles, roadside trees and submerged houses.

THE NUMBER OF DEATHS EXCEEDED 3 THOUSAND

Hichem Abu Chkiouat, Minister of Civil Aviation and member of the emergency committee of the administration responsible for the eastern region, told Reuters by phone: “I returned from Derna. The situation is very serious. “Bodies lie everywhere: in the sea, in the valleys, under buildings…” he noted.

Osman Abdulcelil, the “government health minister” in eastern Libya, said the death toll in the flood disaster in the country’s east exceeded 3,000.

“25 PERCENT OF THE CITY DISAPPEARED”

“The number of bodies recovered in Derna exceeds 1,000,” said Chkiouat, “I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city was destroyed. “Many, many buildings collapsed,” he added.

Abu Chkiouat later told Al Jazeera that he expected the total death toll across the country to be more than 2,500 and that the number of missing people was also increasing.

“We can confirm from our independent sources that the number of missing people has reached 10,000 so far,” Tamer Ramadan, head of the delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Middle East Societies, told reporters in Geneva. Red Moon (IFRC), via video link from Tunisia. .

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, LibyaHe announced that three planes were sent with search and rescue and humanitarian aid teams.

Politically divided into east and west LibyaPublic services have collapsed since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 sparked years of conflict.

“THE SITUATION IS TRAGIC”

Libyan Red Crescent spokesman Tevfik Şükri said they estimated the number of families displaced due to the floods at 20,000.

According to the post on the social media account of Tripoli’s “February” television, Libyan Red Crescent spokesperson Şükri made a statement regarding the flood disaster in the east of the country. Şükri stated that the situation in Derne is “tragic” and called for help: “We estimate that the number of displaced families is 20,000. “This situation requires extending a helping hand to the people of Derne, Beyda and their surroundings,” he said.

Şükri noted that Red Crescent teams continue to search for the missing.