A week after the severe floods in Libya, the death toll has risen to more than 11,000. According to the UN Emergency Relief Office (OCHA), around 11,300 people died in the heavily damaged port city of Darna alone. Another 10,100 people are still missing.
Those numbers are expected to rise as search and rescue workers are still searching for survivors, a report from the UN emergency relief office said. In Darna, bodies are still washing up or decomposing under the rubble, the Arabic television station Al-Jazeera reported.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had previously reported that around 4,000 fatalities had been identified so far. Storm “Daniel” hit the North African civil war country last Sunday. Near the particularly affected city of Darna, two dams burst and entire neighborhoods were washed into the sea. Until the disaster, around 100,000 residents lived in the port city.
Illnesses, accommodations, aids
Meanwhile, concerns grew about possible health impacts for the city’s population. By Saturday, around 150 cases of diarrhea had been reported. The head of the Center for Disease Control, Haidar al-Sajih, cited contaminated drinking water as the reason. The center has declared an emergency for at least a year in the flood areas.
According to the WHO, at least 35,000 people have lost their homes in Darna alone. With thousands of displaced people now on the move, the risk of coming into contact with landmines and explosive ordnance left over from years of conflict in the country is also increasing, OCHA said. The floods had, among other things, carried landmines into other areas, it said, citing the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Meanwhile, 29 tons of medical supplies arrived in Benghazi on Saturday. This means that almost 250,000 people can receive medical care, as WHO announced. These include vital medicines for chronic and communicable diseases as well as material for wound care and emergency operations as well as body bags. The material goes to clinics and practices in the region.
From Benghazi to Darna it is between 300 and 400 kilometers, depending on the route. The floods have washed away access roads to the particularly hard-hit port city of Darna, and important bridges are buried under masses of mud. According to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Federation (IFRC), there is only one motorable access road left.
