Libya floods – live: Fears death toll could ‘double’ as tens of thousand missing after river ‘tsunami’
Over 30,000 individuals have been displaced in Derna after havoc unleashed by Storm Daniel
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Your support makes all the difference.More than 2, 000 bodies have been found in the Libyan city of Derna as the toll is expected to increase significantly from 5,000 presumed and may even double, a minister in the regional administration has said after the city was hit by catastrophic floods.
The “sea is constantly dumping dozens of bodies”, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, minister of civil aviation in the administration that runs eastern Libya, told Reuters, adding that reconstruction would cost billions of dollars.
The confirmed death toll remains disputed so far as officials struggle to assess the damage in the conflict-stricken country. Officials say over 30,000 people remain displaced or missing.
Torrential rains brought by Storm Daniel appear to have overwhelmed multiple dams and sent a river “tsunami” through the city, washing away entire neighbourhoods and sweeping people out to sea, in what has emerged to be the worst climate disaster of 2023 so far.
Rescuers recover over 2,000 bodies
Rescuers have found more than 2,000 bodies now in the wreckage of a Libyan city where floodwaters broke dams and washed away neighbourhoods.
Officials fear the death toll could exceed 5,000 in the nation made vulnerable by years of turmoil and neglect.
Over half of the bodies recovered had been buried in mass graves in Derna, said eastern Libya's health minister, Othman Abduljaleel.
Rescue teams were working day and night to recover many other bodies scattered in the streets and under the rubble. Some bodies were retrieved from the sea.
Turkey sends third aid plane as deadly floods hit
Turkish officials said a third aircraft carrying aid and search and rescue workers has flown to flood-stricken Libya.
Two other planes had already been dispatched to provide help after deadly floods from Storm Daniel hit the North African nation, sweeping away entire neighbourhoods in multiple coastal towns.
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Libya: Turkey sends third aid plane as deadly floods hit North African nation
Turkish officials said a third aircraft carrying aid and search and rescue workers has flown to flood-stricken Libya on Tuesday (12 September). Two other planes had already been dispatched to provide help after deadly floods from Storm Daniel hit the North African nation, sweeping away entire neighborhoods in multiple coastal towns. Authorities estimate that around 2,000 people have died in Derna, an eastern city where heavy rainfall and floods broke dams. According to the Red Cross, 10,000 people were feared to be missing across the country.
Satellite image of Libyan desert before and after Storm Daniel
Death toll in Derna surpasses 5,100, official says
The death toll from flooding that hit the eastern Libyan city of Derna reached more than 5,000 and was expected to rise further, a local health official has said, as authorities struggled to get aid to the coastal city where thousands remained missing and tens of thousands were homeless.
Ossama Ali, a spokesman for the Ambulance and Emergency Centre in eastern Libya, said at least 5,100 deaths were recorded in Derna, along with around 100 others elsewhere in eastern Libya.
More than 7,000 people were injured in the city, most receiving treatment in field hospitals that authorities and aid agencies set up, he told The Associated Press.
The number of deaths is likely to increase since search and rescue teams are still collecting bodies from the streets, buildings and the sea, he said.
Video: Cars buried In heavy mud after devastating Libya floods
We’re pausing our live coverage of the disaster in Libya but keeping checking independent.co.uk for the latest updates.
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