At least 2,300 people have died in one town in eastern Libya alone after a violent storm caused devastating flooding in the region over the weekend, emergency services said on Tuesday.
Local officials said about 5,000 were still missing in the city of Derna, home to 125,000 people.
“There are bodies everywhere – in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings,” Hichem Abu Chkiouat, civil aviation minister in the government that controls the east, told Portal.
“I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city has disappeared. Many, many buildings collapsed.”
Rescue teams get to work
An emergency service team has been stationed in Derna since Monday, Osama Ali, spokesman for the Tripoli-based emergency service, told the AFP news agency.
Rescue teams have begun pulling hundreds of bodies from the rubble after heavy rains over the weekend caused dams to burst and entire districts to be washed out.
Thousands dead and missing in floods in Libya
This browser does not support the video element.
“The death toll is enormous and could reach thousands,” Tamer Ramadan, the head of the IRFC delegation in Libya, told reporters early Tuesday.
“We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people so far stands at 10,000,” he added.
Three Libyan Red Crescent volunteers died “in the line of duty,” IFRC chief Jagan Chapagain wrote on X, the media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Derna suffered widespread destruction as flash floods inundated entire parts of the city. Image: Planet Labs PBC/AP/Picture Alliance
Meanwhile, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths wrote on X that emergency teams were also being mobilized to help on site.
EU promises help
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said they were monitoring the situation closely and were ready to provide support.
“Saddened by the images of devastation in Libya, ravaged by extreme weather conditions that have caused the tragic loss of many lives,” Borrell wrote on X.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his condolences to those affected and said the situation was dire. “We are in contact with the United Nations and partners regarding possible assistance,” he wrote on X.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote down
Turkey has sent planes carrying rescue workers and the United Arab Emirates has also promised to do so. Algeria and Egypt have expressed their condolences to the people of the North African country.
Strong currents carried cars to the edge of the city of Derna. Image: Libyan Government/AP Photo/Picture Alliance
Uncertainty continues to reign in the divided nation
Libya is divided between rival governments in the west and east.
The eastern port city of Derna, once occupied by Islamic extremists in the years after the fall of ruler Muammar Gaddafi, was hit hardest by the rains.
The west is ruled by an internationally recognized government in Tripoli, while the east is controlled by a separate administration.
Analyst Anas El Gomati on the impact of extreme weather conditions
This browser does not support the video element.
Officials from the administration in the east of the divided country put the death toll at 1,000 on Tuesday.
They said Monday they feared at least 2,000 people had died, although it was not clear what they based that figure on. The government in Tripoli has not yet published a death count.
The chaos and division in governance in the oil-rich country has left cities with long-standing crumbling and inadequate structures.
zc, rm/nm (Portal, AP)