1 of 1 Beach with debris and debris from the floods is registered in the city of Derna, Libya, on September 13, 2023 Photo: Esam Omran AlFetori/Portal Beach with debris and debris from the floods is recorded in the city of Derna, in Libya , on September 13, 2023 Photo: Esam Omran AlFetori/Portal
Rescue teams in Derna, Libya, struggle daily to find and dispose of the bodies of flood victims caused by the storm Daniel, which hit the east of the country this Sunday (10).
Thousands of bodies have already been found under the rubble of houses and buildings. Hundreds more were seen lifeless on the country’s beaches.
“Bodies are scattered across the streets, washed ashore and buried under collapsed buildings and rubble. In just two hours, one of my colleagues counted more than 200 bodies on the beach near Derna,” said Bilal Sabouh, regional forensics manager. Red Cross Forensics for Africa.
More than a thousand people were buried in mass graves in the city. This attitude led members of the World Health Organization (WHO) to call for better managed burials.
“We call on authorities in communities affected by the tragedy not to rush into mass burials or cremations,” said Dr. Kazunobu Kojima, the doctor in charge of biosafety and biosecurity at the WHO Health Emergencies Program.
The declaration called for the demarcation and documentation of individual graves Rushed burials could lead to psychological distress for families as well as social and legal problems.
The bodies of the victims Trauma caused by natural disasters “almost never” posed a health riskHe explained, unless they were in or near freshwater sources, as corpses can leak feces.
Drone video shows devastation caused by floods in Libya
The Red Cross sent a cargo flight to Benghazi, the largest city in eastern Libya, on Friday with 5,000 body bags. Further help also came from abroad.
The Norwegian Refugee Council, which has a team of 100 people in Libya, said that dealing with corpses was the most pressing concern.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said this at the briefing in Geneva Libya needed equipment to find people trapped in mud and damaged buildings after floodsand primary health care to prevent a cholera outbreak among survivors.