Devastation in Eastern Libya: Thousands Missing and Over 2,000 Fatalities Reported
According to the head of the east Libyan government, hundreds of people are still missing and there have been over 2,000 fatalities.An expert on Libya, Jalel Harchaoui, told the BBC that the death toll may be “several thousand” or more. In response to Storm Daniel’s Sunday landfall, the government proclaimed a state of extraordinary emergency. Throughout ongoing rescue attempts, seven Libyan army men went missing. School and business closures were enforced as officials in the east imposed a curfew.Benghazi, Sousse, Derna, and Al-Marj were all impacted, as were other eastern cities.
The Red Cross of Libya also reported that at least 150 homes had been damaged in addition to the growing death toll. Reuters reports that, according to the director of the Red Crescent humanitarian network, Derna alone has seen at least 150 fatalities. Approximately 100,000 people dwell in Derna, where two dams are said to have failed, flooding much of the neighborhood and killing several locals.Therefore, the port was deemed a “disaster city” by the authorities.
Osama Hamad, the prime minister of Eastern Libya, said on a Libyan television station that “entire neighborhoods in Derna have vanished, along with their residents, swept away by water.” “The missing number is in the thousands, and the dead number is over 2,000,” he said.
Reuters claims that at least 150 people have died in Derna alone, according to the director of the Red Crescent relief network.Derna, a city of 100,000 inhabitants, is claimed to have had two dam failures that resulted in widespread flooding and the deaths of numerous residents.Because of this, the port was classified by the government as a “disaster city.”
Eastern Libya’s prime minister, Osama Hamad, declared on a Libyan television station that “entire neighborhoods in Derna have vanished, along with their residents, swept away by water.” “The dead number is over 2,000 and the missing number is in the thousands,” he stated. Mr. Hamad did not cite a source for his data. The western city of Misrata was among those affected by the floods, along with regions in the east.
Unreliable films of the storm have been making the rounds online, one of which shows a guy being carried away by floodwaters. Drivers caught on their car roofs may be seen in other videos.
Four significant oil ports were closed as a result of the storm, in addition to schools and stores.
While the administration in Benghazi has been handling issues in the east of the country, the competing, internationally recognized government in Tripoli has also been active. Since Muammar Gaddafi, the country’s longtime leader, was assassinated in 2011, Libya has been divided between two opposing governments. Following Storm Daniel’s invasion, both governments proclaimed three days of mourning. Over a dozen people were killed last week when it hit Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria.
Egypt was preparing for Storm Daniel on Monday, and by Monday night, the nation’s meteorological agency reported that rainclouds had grown in number over the northwest coast. As a result of increased summertime evaporation of water due to global warming, climate experts have issued a warning that storm intensity will increase.