Search teams are combing streets, wrecked buildings, and even the sea to look for bodies in Derna, where the collapse of two dams unleashed a massive flash flood that killed thousands of people. (Image: AP Photo)
The beaches of Derna were strewn with furniture, toys and in some parts with dead bodies of those who were trapped in the floods.
A local official in Libya said that as many as 20,000 people are feared to have died in floods. Speaking to Saudi Arabian news agency Al Arabiya the mayor of the port city Derna said he estimated that 18,000 to 20,000 died when two dams burst. This released a tsunami of water and killed people while they were asleep.
Eastern Libya has been wrecked by floods caused due to bursting of two dams and heavy rainfall brought about by Storm Daniel. Derna, the worst-affected city, is home to over 100,000 people.
A report by the BBC said that there are unrecovered bodies under the rubble or in the sea which increases the risk of disease. Libya has requested international aid to mitigate the crisis.
The report also cited rescuers calling for “body bags” signalling the magnitude of the death and devastation caused by the floods. The Turkish Red Crescent which is carrying out rescue activities in the nation torn by conflict said the damage makes it look like the port city has been hit by an earthquake.
“The water now has stopped and what is left is only the rubble, and the people who were taken by the flood under the water,” a resident of the city told the BBC.
Rescue teams from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar have arrived and are continuing with the rescue efforts.
Usama Al Husadi, a 52-year-old driver, speaking to news agency Reuters said that he could not find his wife and five children after searching everywhere.
“At least 50 members from my father’s family… missing and dead,” Al Husadi told the news agency. Another resident of the city, a labourer, said he lost 15 family members and nine friends.
“All were swept away by the valley into the sea. May God have mercy upon them and grant them heaven,” the man said.
The BBC in its report said leaders of Libya’s Tripoli-based administration have called for an inquiry into the collapse of two dams that led to the deadly floods. Libya is currently ruled by two factions – one based in the east, and one in the west in the capital Tripoli. Both sides have signed a ceasefire agreement but skirmishes continue.
A Government of National Unity was formed in Tripoli with Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh as the internationally-recognised prime minister in 2021 but the faction on the eastern side also formed a similar setup named – Government of National Stability.
The international community has urged both factions to work together to help people and bring aid to isolated Derna.
