CNN –
The death toll from devastating floods in Libya’s eastern coastal town of Derna has risen to at least 11,300, according to a UN report released on Saturday, although continued search efforts are expected to find more victims.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), another 170 people died in the flooding outside Derna.
And in Derna alone, at least 10,100 people are still missing.
“These numbers are expected to rise as search and rescue teams work tirelessly to find survivors,” it said.
Sarah Sirgany/CNN
The city of Derna was split in two after floods inundated entire parts of the city.
According to the United Nations, more than 40,000 people have been displaced in northeastern Libya since the extreme rains caused by Storm Daniel.
Experts say the storm’s impact was significantly exacerbated by a deadly confluence of factors including aging, crumbling infrastructure, inadequate warnings and the impact of the accelerating climate crisis.
Derna, the epicenter of the disaster, was split in two after floods inundated entire parts of the city.
Before the tragedy, it had a population of about 100,000.
According to the UN, at least 30,000 people were displaced in Derna alone.
Amr Alfiky/Portal
A car is half buried after floods in Derna, Libya, September 16.
“With thousands of displaced people now on the move, the risk of exposure to landmines and Explosive Ordnance of War (ERW) left over from years of conflict is increasing as floods have now displaced landmines and ERW,” OCHA said .
Nearly 300,000 children exposed to flooding from Storm Daniel are at increased risk of cholera, malnutrition, diarrhea and dehydration. The children are also at an “increased risk of violence and exploitation,” the report continues.
Rescuers are scouring collapsed buildings and searching the sea for bodies as hope for survivors continues to dwindle.
Most of the bodies are in the water, international rescue missions said, calling for more equipment and help in retrieving the bodies from the Mediterranean.
“The bodies are decomposing badly and at some point it may no longer be possible to recover them,” a Tunisian mission official said at a meeting with colleagues from Russia, Arab countries, Turkey and Italy.
Zohra Bensemra/Portal
An aerial view of destroyed houses in Derna after a strong storm and heavy rains hit Libya, September 16, 2023.
“We need support to make our intervention more efficient,” the representative added.
Other mission officials from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates reported bodies being found in bays and bays in the Mediterranean, many in areas accessible only by boat.
An Algerian mission official said teams discovered about 50 bodies from a cliff about seven nautical miles from Derna port, but added that the area was only accessible to divers and boats.
“If we get the right boats, we can recover 100 bodies every day,” the Egyptian official said.
Bodies were also trapped under piles of mud in still-inhabited residential areas in Derna and could trigger a health crisis if the areas were not evacuated, teams warned.