Storm “Daniel”
Red Cross expects 10,000 people missing after floods in Libya
Watch the video: Dam burst after violent storms in Libya – thousands feared dead and missing
STORY: Libya is asking the international community for help after severe storms with numerous deaths. Storm Daniel has flooded parts of numerous cities on the Mediterranean. According to eyewitness reports, the water in the coastal town of Derna was up to three meters high. Authorities declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew. Schools and shops are closed. Four major oil ports in the country were closed for several days, engineers said. The head of the eastern regional government told a TV station on Monday that at least 2,000 people had been killed in storms. Thousands more are still missing. Ahmed Mismari, spokesman for the Libyan National Army, said the disaster occurred after dams above the city of Derna collapsed. Entire parts of the city and their residents were then washed into the sea. He assumes there are up to 6,000 missing people. The United Nations in Libya said it would provide assistance to support efforts at the local and national levels. After years of conflict, Libya is politically divided between East and West. State institutions have largely collapsed. The internationally recognized government has no control over the eastern areas.
A violent storm has caused severe devastation in the civil war-torn country of Libya. The Red Cross expects around 10,000 people to be missing.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, around 10,000 people are still missing after the floods caused by a storm in eastern Libya. There could be “thousands” of deaths, organization representative Tamer Ramadan told journalists in a video conference on Tuesday. “Based on our independent information, we confirm that the number of missing people is approximately 10,000.”
The help needed is largely beyond the capacity of the Red Cross and the government in Libya, Ramadan said. That’s why the government asked for international help and that’s why “we will also be sending out an emergency appeal shortly.”
Heaviest rains in Libya in decades
Accompanied by heavy rain, storm “Daniel” hit eastern Libya on Sunday afternoon. There were deadly floods in many places.
The government in the capital Tripoli under Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaiba spoke of the heaviest rains in more than 40 years. According to the local council, the situation in Derna was “out of control”. Two dams are said to have burst there. According to the emergency service, rescue measures were difficult. They rely on the support of helicopters. Power and internet connection are interrupted. The affected regions were declared “disaster areas”.