Over 3,000 people are feared dead and more than 10,000 more are still reported missing in the massive floods that have swamped sections of eastern Libya.
The emergency services of the Tripoli-based government reported on Tuesday that the flash floods have killed more than 2,300 people in Derna. Osama Ali, a spokesman for the services, said more than 10,000 people were still missing and about 7,000 others were injured by the force of floodwaters that rushed down a normally dry river valley and hit the city. It has also been estimated that about 20,000 people have been displaced.
The Benghazi administration has revealed that more than 1,000 bodies have been retrieved in the Mediterranean city of Derna.
The Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, announced on Tuesday that a relief plane carrying 14 tonnes of supplies and medical staff is on its way to Benghazi to help, even though access to Derna, the city that has been affected the hardest, is still problematic.
In a split Libya, aid convoys are traveling from west to east after the Tripoli government, which is recognized internationally, named the eastern part a disaster area and said it would send assistance.
On Monday, Storm Daniel swept eastern Libya, with its impact causing two dams on the Wadi Derna River to burst and flood Derma.
As tons of water surged to the sea, apartment buildings partially collapsed, and a seaside bridge was swept away.
The storm has disrupted communication with the city, making it challenging to acquire data on casualties and damage.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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