Fears mount of surging death toll in Libya flood disaster

Fears mount of surging death toll in Libya flood disaster
by AFP Staff Writers
Derna, Libya (AFP) Sept 13, 2023

Libya was reeling Wednesday from a massive flood disaster that killed at least 2,300 people when a surge of water devastated the eastern city of Derna, leaving another 10,000 missing according to the Red Cross.

Relief missions gathered pace with Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates among the first nations to rush aid to the war-scarred country, and the UN pledging $10 million in support for survivors, including 30,000 people left homeless.

The Mediterranean coastal city of Derna was hit by a huge flash flood late Sunday that witnesses likened to a tsunami after two upstream dams burst amid torrential rains brought by Storm Daniel.

The wall of water swept away entire buildings, vehicles and the people inside them. Many were swept out into the Mediterranean, with bodies washing up on beaches littered with debris and car wrecks.

Traumatised survivors have dug through the mud-caked ruins of shattered buildings to recover victims' bodies, many of which have been buried in mass graves.

The confirmed death toll in the politically fractured North African country reached 2,300 by Tuesday afternoon, but some regional officials were quoted as giving figures more than twice as high.

Another 10,000 people were still missing, said Tamer Ramadan of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"The death toll is huge and might reach thousands," Ramadan said Tuesday, adding that the organisation had independent sources saying that "the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 persons so far".

- 'Epic calamity' -

Oil-rich Libya is still recovering from the years of war and chaos that followed the NATO-backed uprising which toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The country has been left divided between two rival governments -- the UN-brokered, internationally recognised administration based in Tripoli, and a separate administration in the disaster-hit east.

Media reports quoted an interior ministry spokesman of the eastern-based government as saying "more than 5,200" people had died in Derna.

The city, a 300-kilometre (190 mile) drive east of Benghazi, is ringed by hills and bisected by a riverbed that is usually dry in summer, but which became a raging torrent that also destroyed several bridges.

Mudslides and flooding also hit nearby areas of eastern Libya where, aid group the Norwegian Refugee Council said, "entire villages have been overwhelmed by the floods and the death toll continues to rise".

"Communities across Libya have endured years of conflict, poverty and displacement. The latest disaster will exacerbate the situation for these people. Hospitals and shelters will be overstretched."

With global concern spreading, several nations offered urgent aid and rescue teams to help address what one UN official called "a calamity of epic proportions".

The United Nations allocated $10 million for disaster relief, said Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

"Storm Daniel has claimed thousands of lives, causing widespread damage and wiping out livelihoods in eastern Libya," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, adding: "We stand with the people of Libya at this difficult time."

- Rescue effort -

Rescue teams from Turkey have arrived in eastern Libya, authorities said, and Algeria, France, Italy, Qatar and Tunisia also pledged to help.

The United Arab Emirates sent two aid planes carrying 150 tonnes of food, relief and medical supplies to Benghazi, and France said it was sending a field hospital and around 50 military and civilian personnel.

A Kuwaiti flight took off Wednesday with 40 tonnes of supplies, and Jordan sent a military plane loaded with food parcels, tents, blankets and mattresses.

Climate experts have linked Libya's deadly disaster to a combination of the impacts of a heating planet and of the country's years of political chaos and underinvestment in infrastructure.

Hurricane-strength Mediterranean storms such as Daniel -- which earlier hit Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece -- are known as "medicanes" which can gain strength as warmer air absorbs more moisture.

Climate-linked extreme weather events tend to be the deadliest in strife-torn and poor countries that lack good infrastructure, early warning systems and emergency response services.

As the world heats up, Libya's disaster "is illustrative of the type of devastating flooding event we may expect increasingly in the future," said Bristol University climate science professor Lizzie Kendon.

EU says sending assistance to flood-hit Libya
Brussels (AFP) Sept 13, 2023 - The EU said Wednesday assistance from Germany, Romania and Finland had been dispatched to Libya after flooding killed at least 2,300 people, with thousands more missing.

A European Commission said the aid was "on the way" to the devastated city of Derna and the bloc had formally activated its civil protection mechanism to mobilise help.

The move followed a formal request for assistance from authorities in Libya on Tuesday.

The aid from the three EU member states consists of "tents, field beds and blankets, 80 generators, food items, as well as hospital tents and water tanks", the EU said.

EU crisis management commission Janez Lenarcic said the bloc had also released an initial 500,000 euros ($535,000) in emergency funding.

"The EU remains ready to scale up the response for the most affected people in Libya going through this difficult time," he said.

Italy sends experts, ship to Libya after floods
Rome (AFP) Sept 13, 2023 - Italy began flying firefighting personnel and flooding experts to Libya Wednesday and also sent a ship to provide medical and logistical support following devastating floods, the defence ministry said.

Pope Francis, meanwhile, used his weekly audience to pray for the victims of the flooding in the eastern city of Derna, in which 2,300 people have been confirmed killed, while thousands more are missing after flash floods unleashed by Storm Daniel.

After a reconnaissance mission on Tuesday, two Italian military transport aircrafts were due to make three trips Wednesday to carry experts, equipment and other material to Libya.

A naval ship has also set off, due to reach Libya within 24 hours, to provide logistical and medical support, the ministry said in a statement.

Another naval ship carrying two search-and-rescue helicopters, personnel and equipment, might also be dispatched if required, the ministry said.

Two river dams burst after the storm hit Derna on Sunday afternoon, releasing an enormous surge of water that tore through the Mediterranean coastal city, sweeping away buildings and the people inside them.

At least 10,000 people are missing in the country, according to the Red Cross, and another 30,000 people have been left homeless in Derna alone, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis invited prayers "for those who lost their lives, their families and the displaced."

"My thoughts are with the people of Libya hard hit by violent rains that caused flooding and inundation causing numerous deaths and injuries as well as extensive damage," said the 86-year-old pontiff.