The Red Crescent also spoke about hundreds of bodies recovered on Tuesday morning. “Based on our independent information, we confirm that the number of missing people is around 10,000,” the humanitarian organization announced around midday.
The death toll is now estimated at 3,000, according to reports from Darna on the Al-Jazeera TV channel. The internationally unrecognized government in the east of the country already feared thousands of deaths. The prime minister of one of the rival governments in the civil-war country, Osama Hammad, told al-Massar television channel on Monday that more than 2,000 people were feared dead. Thousands more people are missing in the country with almost seven million inhabitants.
Graphics: APA/ORF
“The situation is catastrophic”
According to authorities, more than a thousand bodies were recovered in the city of Darna alone, which has around 50,000 inhabitants. “The situation is very catastrophic. There are dead bodies everywhere – in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings,” said the Aviation Minister of the ruling government in the east, Hisham Shkivat, on Tuesday. He expects the final number of victims to be “very, very high.”
Extreme weather
While individual extreme events cannot be directly attributed to a specific cause, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, one thing is clear: the climate crisis is making extreme weather events, such as floods, storms and heat, more frequent and more intense. This means that precipitation and storms are getting stronger, heat waves are getting hotter, and droughts are getting drier.
“I’m not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city is gone.” Many buildings collapsed. More than 300 victims in Darna were buried in mass graves, the Libyan portal Babwat al-Wasat reported on Tuesday. According to the emergency service, rescue measures were difficult. They have the support of helicopters. Power and Internet connection are interrupted.
A spokesperson for local emergency services also recounted the difficult efforts of rescuers. “There is still a road leading to the city, but passage is difficult and dangerous because part of the road is destroyed and further collapse is expected due to the huge volumes of water.”
Warning about “Daniel” in Egypt
“Daniel” had already hit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria last week with extremely heavy rains. The storm caused flooding, especially in Thessaly, Greece. As of Sunday, Greek authorities reported 15 deaths and two people were still missing, according to civil protection. According to authorities, twelve people were killed in Türkiye and Bulgaria. From Libya, “Daniel” then headed to Egypt.
debate
Climate crisis: what lies ahead?
The heaviest rains in decades
The internationally recognized government in the capital Tripoli, under Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaiba, spoke of the heaviest rains in more than 40 years. Storm “Daniel” hit Libya on Sunday. According to the emergency services, the Northeast was particularly affected. Parts of the cities of Benghazi, Susah, al-Baida, al-Marj and Shahat were also flooded.
In Shahat and surrounding areas, around 20 thousand square kilometers are flooded, as announced by the president of the city, which has around 43 thousand residents, according to information from the DPA.
APA/AFP/Press Office of the Libyan Prime Minister The destruction in the city of Benghazi is enormous: the coastal road was ripped out at this time
Tripoli sends aid supplies
The Tripoli government does not control the eastern areas, but has sent aid to Darna. At least one aid flight took off from the western city of Misrata on Tuesday, a Portal journalist on board the plane said. According to Dbaiba, the plane was carrying 14 tons of emergency supplies, medicines, equipment, body bags and 87 medical and paramedical professionals on board to Benghazi.
International aid promises
Turkey announced in the morning that it would send rescue teams. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the flights were organized with rescue teams including lifeboats, tents and supplies on board.
Several other countries, including Egypt, Qatar, Iran and Italy, agreed to send aid. The United Arab Emirates and the European Union have also pledged support. The United States said it was coordinating with UN partners and Libyan authorities on how to support the aid effort.
APA/AFP/Press Office of the Prime Minister of Libya The storms left a trail of destruction across the affected areas
“Unimaginable extent of destruction”
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “solidarity” with the “Libyan people” and said that the country is mobilizing resources to provide emergency aid. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller expressed his “sympathies and condolences” to those affected and said Washington was working with the United Nations and Libyan authorities to provide assistance. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the news from Libya “shocking”.
The images of #Libya show an unimaginable scale of destruction caused by a serious natural disaster. I express my solidarity and condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and to all the people affected by the devastating floods in this region already ravaged by the crisis. (vdb)
-A. Van der Bellen (@vanderbellen) September 12, 2023
The images from Libya show “an unimaginable extent of destruction caused by a serious natural disaster”, said Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, who tweeted (X) to the families of the victims and all those affected by the devastating floods in this already crisis. dominated region, he expressed his condolences and sympathy.
Three days of national mourning
Three days of national mourning were declared on Monday. The catastrophe initially seemed to unite the country devastated by civil war, as his aides reported.
Civil war broke out in Libya in 2011 following the fall of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Numerous militias still struggle for influence in the oil-rich state. Two hostile governments, one based in the East and the other in the West, are currently fighting for power. All diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully have so far failed. The conflict is being further fueled by foreign powers.