The devastating floods sweeping through Libya’s eastern coastal city of Derna have tragically claimed at least 11,300 lives, states a UN report issued this Saturday, while search operations continue.
An additional 170 individuals have lost their lives in the regions surrounding Derna as a result of the floods, announced the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Furthermore, in Derna alone, a minimum of 10,100 individuals are still missing. “These figures are expected to rise as search-and-rescue crews work tirelessly to find survivors”, the statement remarked.
International support is flowing into Libya from the UN, European nations, and Middle Eastern countries, bringing much-needed relief to thousands of individuals.
The assistance encompasses essential pharmaceuticals and emergency surgical supplies, coupled with body bags to facilitate the transfer of bodies and to ensure a “respectful interment” for the deceased.
Aid organizations are sounding alarms about the escalating threat of disease proliferation, which stands to exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis, especially as the optimism for locating additional survivors diminishes with each passing day since the deadly flooding.
The UN has reported a displacement of over 40,000 individuals throughout northeastern Libya.
On Sunday, a deluge engulfed Derna, sweeping away thousands of individuals and residences into the sea, following the breach of two upstream dams that succumbed to the intense pressure from the downpours unleashed by the hurricane-strength storm.
This extreme rainfall which impacted Libya originated from a weather phenomenon dubbed Storm Daniel.
Experts say that besides the powerful storm, the terrible flooding was made much worse by a mix of problems.
These include old, breaking-down buildings and roads, not enough warnings, and the growing issues caused by the changing climate.
Derna, the heart of the catastrophe, was divided in half when the floodwaters carried away whole neighborhoods. Prior to the tragedy, the city had approximately 100,000 inhabitants.
The UN stated that a minimum of 30,000 individuals have been forced to leave their homes in Derna alone.
“With thousands of displaced people now on the move, the risk of exposure to landmines and Explosive Ordnance of War (ERW) leftover from years of conflict is on the rise, as flood waters have now shifted landmines and ERW”, OCHA reported.
Close to 300,000 minors who were subjected to the floods in the wake of Storm Daniel are confronting heightened threats of cholera, undernutrition, diarrhea, and dehydration.
Moreover, these minors are facing “increased risks of violence and exploitation”, as emphasized in the report.
