Hundreds of people are reportedly feared dead in eastern Libya after heavy flooding caused by Storm Daniel swept away entire neighbourhoods and wrecked homes in multiple coastal towns, with the city of Derna “cut off completely” following the bursting of two ageing dams.
As many as 2,000 people were feared dead, according to the prime minister of a self-proclaimed government based in eastern Libya, Osama Hamad. He added on Monday that thousands were missing, but did not cite where his figures had come from.
Ahmed al-Mosmari, a spokesman for the country’s armed forces based in the east, told a news conference that the death toll in Derna had surpassed 2,000. He said there were between 5,000 and 6,000 reported missing. Al-Mosmari attributed the catastrophe to the collapse of two nearby dams that caused a lethal flash flood.
The head of the Red Crescent in Benghazi, Kais Fhakeri, has confirmed that Storm Daniel has killed at least 150 people in Derna, after water levels in the city rose as high as three metres (10 feet).
It is difficult to determine the exact number of casualties of Storm Daniel as many paces are still caught-off. The lack of communication and lack of synergy arising from a decade-long battle for power between two rival governments each backed by their own militias has contributed adversely to the management of the disaster.
Aid agencies and wealthy Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates were rushing emergency aid to the region, with local officials saying they needed stretchers, food and water.
The deaths occurred after a powerful storm and heavy floods led to the collapse of two ageing dams, which released a swollen fast-moving river that simply washed away at least one neighbourhood.
Video posted online showed major devastation in the city. Entire residential areas were erased along a river that runs down from the mountains through the city centre. Apartment buildings that once stood well back from the river had partially collapsed into the mud.
It is not known how many people were sleeping in the flats when the flood arrived. Residents first knew the dams had collapsed under the weight of the water when they heard an explosion in the middle of the night.
One resident on social media said: “After sunrise we went out to the streets of Derna, but the streets were not there.”
A Derna resident, Ahmed Mohamed, said: “We were asleep and when we woke up we found water besieging the house. We are inside and trying to get out.”
The Derna municipal council announced on their official Facebook page that “the situation is catastrophic and out of control”. It called for international intervention and the opening of a sea corridor due to the collapse of most of the city’s roads.
Kais Fhakeri of the Red Crescent said: “We recorded at least 150 deaths after the collapse of buildings. We expect the death toll to rise to 250. The situation is very catastrophic.”
Heavy floods washed away vehicles, footage broadcast by eastern Libya’s Almostakbal TV showed. The channel also posted pictures of a collapsed road between Sousse and Shahat, home to the Unesco-listed archaeological site Cyrene..
Libya’s eastern-based parliament declared three days of mourning. Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, the rival UN recognised Libyan prime minister based in Tripoli in Libya’s west, also announced three days of mourning in all the affected cities, calling them “disaster areas”.
Dbeibah’s government is recognised by the Central Bank of Libya, which disburses funds to government departments across the country.
Four oil ports – Ras Lanuf, Zueitina, Brega and Es Sidra – were closed from Saturday evening.
The storm struck eastern Libya on Sunday afternoon, hitting especially the coastal town of Jabal al-Akhdar but also Benghazi, where a curfew was declared and schools were closed for several days.
