Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter |
More than 5,000 presumed to be dead and 10,000 missing after the worst lightning storm with heavy rains hit the northeastern Libya, the fourth-largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and the 16th-largest country in the world.
“At least 5,300 people are thought dead, said the interior ministry of Libya’s eastern government on Tuesday, reported by the state media LANA.
“The death toll is huge,” said Tamer Ramadan, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies delegation in Libya, gave the numbers of missing people during a briefing to reporters in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday.
“The situation is tragic,” declared Essam Abu Zeriba, the interior minister of the east Libya government in a telephone interview on the Saudi-owned satellite news channel Al-Arabiya.
The dozens of villages and towns were “severely affected … with widespread flooding, damage to infrastructure, and loss of life, “said Georgette Gagnon, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Libya.
Othman Abduljalil, health minister in Libya’s eastern administration, told Libya’s Almasar TV that the whole situation is “catastrophic,” after visiting the city on Monday.
According to the multiple reports, the Mediterranean storm Daniel caused devastating floods in Libya that broke dams swept away entire neighborhoods and wrecked homes in multiple coastal towns in the east of the North African nation. Entire residential areas were erased along a river that runs down from the mountains through the city center. Multistory apartment buildings river was partially collapsed into the mud.
The collapse of two dams caused the huge devastation in the city of Derna, which lies some 300 kilometers
(190 miles) east of Benghazi.
In Derna, the local media reported the worst catastrophic situation with no electricity or communications.
The Libyan Red Crescent three workers are reported dead while helping families in Derna.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said the country faces “an unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” in the wake of the disaster.
On Tuesday, the Turkish aircraft delivering humanitarian aid have arrived in Libya, according to Turkey’s Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
While Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a Turkish President said to provide support by sending 168 search and rescue teams and humanitarian aid to Benghazi, reported by the state-run news agency Anadoulu Agency.
Italy is sending a civil defense team to assist with rescue operations, the country’s Civil Protection Department. Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of United Arab Emirates (UAE) has directed to send aid and search & rescue teams to help the victims and offered his condolences, the state news agency reported.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi sent a military delegation, led by the Egypt’s Armed Forces’ chief of staff Osama Askar, whom arrived in Libya on Tuesday to coordinate the provision of logistical and humanitarian assistance.
Ossama Hamad, the prime minister of the east Libya government ordered three days of mourning and ordered flags across the country to be lowered to half-staff.
Libya’s catastrophic storm follows deadly flooding in many other parts of the world including southern Europe and Hong Kong.
