Libya, Derna:
People whose homes were swept away by floods a week ago in Libya’s eastern city of Derna faced a dilemma on Sunday: whether to stay and risk infection or flee through areas cleared of mines by torrents.
On September 10, a powerful storm burst two dams upstream of Derna, killing thousands of people as residential blocks lining the normally dry riverbed collapsed while people slept. Many bodies were washed into the sea.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Saturday announced the Libyan Red Crescent’s death toll at 11,300. However, a Libyan Red Crescent spokesperson appeared to cast doubt on this, saying: “The figures are changing and the Red Crescent is not responsible for this.”
OCHA spokesperson Eri Kaneko said it was difficult to determine the exact number of casualties as the search for bodies and survivors continued, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) has so far confirmed 3,922 deaths. He said that Libya’s eastern government’s health minister announced Sunday that 3,283 people had died.
More than 1,000 people have already been buried in mass graves, according to the United Nations, and aid groups have warned against the practice. Libyan authorities have confirmed that 150 people have been poisoned by contaminated water in flood-hit areas.
Mohamed Wanis Tajouri said he came to Derna from coastal Benghazi with fellow medical students to carry out disinfection and sterilization work. “After the floods, there will be epidemics,” he says.
Sunday’s sunrise revealed a quiet scene of devastation, with piles of debris cleared on the side of an empty road, along with tangled metal including pieces of wrecked cars.
Hamad Awad sat on a blanket on an empty street, a water bottle and bedding next to him.
“I’m staying in the area and trying to clean up and identify the missing people,” he said. “Thank you God for giving us patience.”
The entire district of Derna, estimated to have a population of at least 120,000 people, was washed away or buried in mud. State media said at least 891 buildings in the city were destroyed and the mayor said 20,000 people may have been killed.
Mohamed Alnaji Bushertilah, a government employee, said 48 members of his family were missing. Another resident said survivors were at a loss as to what to do next.
“We don’t know anything yet. We’re hearing rumors. Some are trying to reassure us, others are saying we need to leave the city or stay here,” Wafi said. said the man, who only gave his first name. “We don’t have water or resources.”
According to OCHA, homeless people are living in makeshift shelters, schools, or crammed into the homes of relatives and friends.
It added that landmines and other weapons left behind from years of conflict were being dislodged by the floods, posing further danger to thousands of displaced people on the move.
OCHA said more than 40,000 people have been displaced across northeastern Libya, according to the latest data from the International Organization for Migration, but warned that number was likely to rise further.
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International officials say more help is needed, but aid agencies are airlifting emergency aid and some countries are sending supplies.
Libya’s eastern government’s health minister announced on Sunday that four members of a Greek rescue team were killed in a road accident on their way from Benghazi to Derna, and seven others were left in critical condition. Three members of a Libyan family also died, and two were left in critical condition.
Footage broadcast by Libya’s al-Masar television showed preparations being made at a field hospital in France.
As civil protection workers from Algeria searched the rubble of the city’s high-rise buildings, Hassan Awad, a resident of Derna, said: “People came from all over to help us, which made things easier for us. I felt like I wasn’t alone.” Survivor.
Pointing to a rusted pole between two buildings, Awad said that’s how his family survived the flood that tore through their house and covered everything in mud.
“We found bodies of neighbors, friends and loved ones,” he said. Along the coast, excavators were moving broken furniture and cars, searching for victims below. Another excavator was removing rubble from the building, and rescue workers stood nearby, kneeling in prayer.
In al-Badia, a coastal village west of Derna, a hospital treated not only Derna victims but also victims from Derna. When the floods hit, doctors tried to stop the water by building improvised dams on the streets, but the water rose inside the buildings.
Hospital director Abdel Rahim Mazek said the flooding affected machines on the lower floors of the hospital.
Elsewhere in town, volunteers handed out clothing and food.
Abdulnabi, a volunteer, said the team was from Ajayrat, about 800 miles (1,200 kilometers) from western Libya, which has been cut off from the east by more than a decade of intermittent conflict.
The country of 7 million people has lacked a strong central government since a NATO-backed uprising overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and its oil resources have been scattered among competing groups.
Analysts say the disaster has led to some adjustment between the internationally supported Tripoli government in the west and its rival in the east, but reconstruction efforts are likely to reopen fault lines. He expressed his view.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
