Even days after the widespread destruction of the city, many international aid organizations have not yet reached the scene of the accident, as the online portal Middleeastmonitor (MEMO) reported on Friday. Until now, it has largely been left to regional aid organizations and city residents to “lead rescue efforts, provide medical assistance, and distribute food and drinking water.”
The aim of evacuating the city is to create space for the rescue of cyclone victims, as quoted by the Turkish agency Anadolu Ajansi from a statement by the Ministry of the Interior of the internationally unrecognized government of eastern Libya.
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“Constantly finding more bodies”
As a result of the flood disaster, all of the city’s supplies collapsed. “The telephone network, electricity supply and roads throughout the region are damaged and impassable,” Thomas Claes, director of the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Libya, told the editorial network Germany (RND).
Thousands of people remain missing
According to aid workers, the humanitarian situation in areas of Libya affected by the storm and floods remains “catastrophic”. In Darna there is little hope of finding survivors. Thousands of people are missing in the port city.
Floods have destroyed access roads and important bridges are buried under masses of mud. An additional challenge for rescue teams are the relics of the civil war that has ravaged the country for years. In this context, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (ICRC) referred to the danger of unexploded bombs and abandoned ammunition depots.
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Not all affected areas were reached
Claes also confirmed the information that rescue teams and supply convoys from neighboring cities had barely reached Darna. In Darna, the helpers are mainly busy recovering the many bodies: “They are constantly finding more dead people who are washed ashore near the sea or are discovered among the city’s rubble.”
As the Libyan Red Crescent said on Thursday night, the death toll in Darna recently rose to 11,300. However, the numbers are estimates. As not all urban areas were reached, a significant increase in the mentioned numbers is expected.
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“The disaster is still unfolding”
The catastrophe is still ongoing, said Libyan ICRC spokesman Bashir Omar. Given the confusing situation, it is still too early to provide reliable information on deaths and injuries.
Apparently, this also applies to other areas in eastern Libya that were hit by storm “Daniel” earlier in the week. Parts of the cities of Benghazi, Susah, al-Baida and al-Marj were also flooded by the passage of “Daniel”, which had already left a trail of destruction in Greece. A total of five Libyan provinces were affected, with people in some locations still waiting for rescue.
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A third of the city destroyed
There have also been recent fears that another dam east of Benghazi could collapse. According to information from DPA, the government of eastern Libya, based in Benghazi, recently assured that the situation in the two dams of al-Katra and Wadi Jaza is under control. However, there is no independent confirmation of this.
In Darna, after storm “Daniel”, the collapse of two dams, which presumably had not been maintained for years, caused serious flooding. Analysis of new satellite images now suggests that about a third of the city has been almost completely destroyed. “Entire neighborhoods have disappeared from the map,” said UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths.
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“Conditions are difficult because Darna has been divided into two parts, east and west, by floods,” said aid group Doctors Without Borders. “Aid coordination is urgently needed.” There are many volunteers, “but it’s too much, it’s getting chaotic”.
IOM estimates the number of homeless people at 30 thousand
According to estimates by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 30,000 people were left homeless in Darna. Like other organizations, the IOM suggests a chaotic situation. It is unclear whether or how many of the estimated 10,000 missing people have been found alive or dead.
Taking into account the situation in the flooded areas in Libya, but also in the earthquake zone in Morocco, humanitarian organizations are now warning against the hasty burial of victims in mass graves. It is also important to think about your relatives.
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According to experts, there is no evidence that unburied deaths contribute to the spread of epidemics, World Health Organization (WHO) spokeswoman Margaret Harris said on Friday in Geneva.
“Local authorities and communities may be under enormous pressure to bury the dead quickly,” said Bilal Sabouh of the ICRC. According to him, the ICRC has sent thousands of body bags and trained experts to the region – the aim is to offer the population the best possible support in this difficult task.