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About 2,000 people were killed and thousands more were missing after Storm Daniel brought heavy rains to northeastern Libya, causing two dams to collapse, sending water flowing into already flooded areas.
Othman Abdel Jalil, Minister of Health in the parliament-backed government in eastern Libya, toured the worst-hit city of Derna on Monday, describing parts of it as a “ghost town.”
“the situation [in Derna] Abdul Jalil told the Libyan Al-Massar channel: “It was catastrophic… and the bodies are still lying in many places.”
He added: “There are still families trapped inside their homes and there are victims under the rubble… I expect people to have been swept away by the water, and tomorrow (Tuesday) morning we will find many of them.”
Ali Al-Saadi / Reuters
An aerial view of flood waters during a strong storm and heavy rains that hit the city of Shahat, Libya, September 11, 2023.
Abdul Jalil said that up to 6,000 people are missing from Derna, but it is just one area affected by the floods that swept through several cities in the northeast of the country on the border with the Mediterranean Sea.
The rain is the result of a very strong low pressure system bringing it Catastrophic floods in Greece Last week it moved into the Mediterranean Sea before developing into a tropical cyclone known as a hurricane medicine. The weather system is similar to tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, or hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean.
Earlier, the Libyan Red Crescent Society estimated that more than 300 people died in Derna, according to data issued by the Libyan Red Crescent. mail On social media.
Ahmed Al-Mismari, spokesman for the Libyan National Army stationed in the east, said that two dams collapsed under the pressure of the floods.
“As a result, three bridges were destroyed. The flowing waters swept away entire neighborhoods, eventually throwing them into the sea,” he said.
Libyan government/A.B
Cars and rubble on a street in Derna, Libya, on Monday, September 11, 2023, after it was flooded by heavy rain.
The head of the Libyan Emergency and Ambulance Authority, Osama Ali, told CNN that after the dam collapsed, “all the water went to an area near Derna, which is a mountainous coastal area.”
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He added that homes in the valleys were swept away by strong mud currents that carried vehicles and debris. Ali said phone lines in the city were also down, complicating rescue efforts, with workers unable to enter Derna due to severe damage.
Ali said that the authorities did not anticipate the scale of the disaster.
He added: “Weather conditions, sea water levels and rainfall were not well studied [were not studied]Ali said: “The winds are fast, and there was no evacuation of families who could be in the path of the storm and in the valleys.”
Imhamed Muhammad Kashim/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Settlements, vehicles and workplaces were damaged after flooding caused by heavy rains in Misrata, Libya on September 10, 2023.
He added: “Libya was not prepared for a disaster like this. This level of disaster has never been witnessed before. Ali told Al-Hurra TV earlier: “We admit that there are shortcomings even though this is the first time we have faced this level of disaster.”
Al-Mismari, the official spokesman for the Libyan National Army, said that the floods affected several cities, including Al-Bayda, Al-Marj, Tobruk, Takins, Al-Bayda, and Battah, in addition to the eastern coast all the way to Benghazi.
Libya, with a population of six million, has been divided between warring factions since 2014, following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
The head of the parliament-backed government of eastern Libya, Osama Hamad, described the situation as “catastrophic and unprecedented,” according to a report issued by the official Libyan News Agency (Lana).
Footage circulated on social media showed submerged cars, collapsed buildings, and torrents of water flowing in the streets.
Video clips shared by the Medical Center in Al-Bayda on Facebook showed the evacuation of hospitals in the city of Al-Bayda in the east of the country after severe flooding due to rain caused by a severe storm.
Omar Jarhman – Reuters
People stand on a damaged road when a strong storm and heavy rain hit the city of Shahat, Libya, September 11, 2023.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said, in a blog post on the
Several countries sent their condolences and offered assistance to Libya as rescue teams rushed to find survivors under the rubble and rubble.
Turkey’s disaster agency said on Monday it would mobilize 150 search and rescue personnel, along with tents, rescue vehicles and other supplies such as generators.
The US Embassy in Libya said on
The Emirates News Agency reported that the President of the Emirates, Zayed Al Nahyan, directed the sending of relief, search and rescue teams, offering his condolences to those affected by the disaster.
Ali Al-Saadi / Reuters
An aerial view of flood waters during a strong storm and heavy rains that hit the city of Shahat, Libya, September 11, 2023.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi also offered his condolences to Libya. Al-Sisi said in a statement on social media: “I wish a speedy recovery for the injured, and I hope that the crisis will pass quickly and that the Libyans will stand together.”
The weather is expected to move slowly eastward towards northern Egypt. Rainfall over the next two days could reach 50mm – this area averages less than 10mm of rainfall throughout the entire month of September.
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