Communities can be devastated by flooding, which can lead to deaths, displacements and damage to infrastructure. Morgues full of corpses would be a sign of the difficulties in dealing with the aftermath of the disaster.
According to Saadeddin Abdul Wakil, undersecretary of the Health Ministry of the Unity Government in Tripoli (one of the two rival administrations ruling the nation), the death toll reached more than 6,000 people as of Wednesday morning local time.
Staff members report that despite the urgent need to treat disaster survivors, morgues are overcrowded in hospitals that are not yet operational. According to the country’s Ministry of Emigration, 87 Egyptians who died in Libya were buried in Egypt by the government.
Authorities estimate that another 10,000 people remain missing, swept out to sea or buried under debris scattered across the city, which was previously home to more than 100,000 people.
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- Floods devastate Libyan morgues and the number of victims exceeds 6,000
- A ‘catastrophe’ of this magnitude was not foreseen
Floods devastate Libyan morgues and the number of victims exceeds 6,000
Credit: Reuters
The Derna floods have caused the relocation of more than 30,000 people, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya reported on Wednesday.
Some affected areas are now inaccessible to aid organizations due to severe damage to the region’s infrastructure. Currently only two of Derna’s seven access points are open.
In an effort to uphold Islamic principles that the dead must receive proper burial rituals within three days, emergency teams are sifting through mounds of rubble for survivors and bodies.
According to Libya’s Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Adel Juma, “the Martyrs committee (has been established to) identify missing persons and implement procedures to identify and bury them in accordance with Sharia and legal laws and standards. “.
Trying to clear roads and debris to find survivors has become an even more difficult task due to the damage caused by Storm Daniel.
Credit: The Guardian
As a result of the storm’s disruption of communications, rescue attempts were hampered and anxiety was experienced by relatives outside Libya awaiting news of missing loved ones.
Unlike its adversary in the east, which is governed by commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA) and supports the eastern parliament led by Osama Hamad, the UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNU) is located in Tripoli, in northwestern Libya.
Derna, which lies about 300 kilometers (190 miles) east of Benghazi, is ruled by Haftar and his eastern government.
Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged all Libyan political figures to work together to end “political stalemates and divisions” in a statement on Wednesday.
Credit: CNN
A ‘catastrophe’ of this magnitude was not foreseen
One of the deadliest floods in North Africa’s recorded history appears to have been caused by Storm Daniel.
A tropical-type cyclone formed from the extremely powerful low pressure system, which then traveled towards the Mediterranean before crossing the Libyan coast.
Last week, Daniel also caused unprecedented flooding in Greece, but there were far fewer fatalities.
The terrifying storm comes during a year marked by unprecedented weather disasters and adverse weather conditions, including devastating wildfires and sweltering heat.
While flooding affected other cities in the area, Derna was the most severely damaged when two dams gave way, throwing entire neighborhoods into raging seas.
According to Osama Aly, a representative of the emergency and ambulance services, “Libya was not prepared for a catastrophe like this.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn