Storm Daniel, which battered Greece last week, swept across the Mediterranean on Sunday, causing flooding in northern Libya, particularly in Derna, one of the many coastal towns affected.
Local authorities speak of a “catastrophic” situation, with thousands dead and missing, roads and buildings destroyed.
The dams above the city collapsed “whole neighborhoods with their inhabitants swept into the sea”, Ahmed Mismari, a spokesman for the Libyan National Army (LNA), which controls eastern Libya, told a nationally televised press conference. Local authorities estimate that between five and six thousand people are missing.
“Thousands missing, over 2,000 dead”, Osama Hamad, head of the administration in the eastern part of the country, confirmed to local television Al-Mazar TV. “Entire neighborhoods in Terna disappeared, along with their inhabitants… washed away by the water.he added.
However, another source, the head of the Red Cross aid group in the region, put the number of victims in the region very low: 150 and it was expected to reach 250.
The country has been politically divided into east and west since a NATO-backed popular uprising in 2011 sparked years of conflict. The eastern part of the country, where Cyrenaica is located, is not controlled by the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, the Libyan capital.
This Monday, the Tripoli Presidential Council – made up of just three people – which serves as the country’s head of state, launched an appeal to the international community.
“We appeal to fraternal and allied countries and international organizations to provide assistance,” he said. The UN office in Libya has already confirmed that it is closely monitoring the situation and will “provide emergency assistance to support local and national response efforts”.
Images from the region bear witness to the devastation that has hit the country in recent hours: people are stuck on rooftops asking for help, water is sweeping away cars, roads are cut off.
The government of eastern Libya declared three days of mourning for the victims, a move backed by the prime minister of the interim government in Tripoli, who also declared three days of mourning in all the affected cities, which he deemed “disaster areas”.
National authorities declared a state of emergency, closing schools and shops and imposing curfews on people. The Tripoli government has ordered state agencies to “immediately deal” with flood damage in affected cities, but the administration has little influence in the east of the country.
with agencies