The first international aid deliveries have arrived in Libya, including from THW. While hope for further survivors is dwindling locally, up to 20,000 deaths are expected in the port city of Darna alone.
A first aid delivery from the Technical Relief Agency (THW) for the flood area has arrived in Libya. Two Bundeswehr aircraft with a total of 30 tons of THW relief supplies on board landed in Benghazi, Libya, in the evening, said a THW spokesman.
The flights from the Bundeswehr base in Wunstorf in Lower Saxony were accompanied by two THW logisticians who ensured that the delivery was properly handed over to the local authorities.
Specifically, 100 tents with lighting, 1,000 camp beds, 1,000 blankets, 1,000 sleeping mats, 1,000 water filters and 80 power generators were to be brought to the disaster area. The relief goods filled eight trucks and are worth around half a million euros, according to the THW. The delivery takes place at the request and with financing of the Foreign Office and on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
Dramatic increase in the number of deaths feared
Meanwhile, hope of finding any survivors is fading. The situation in the port city of Darna is particularly dramatic. Recovered victims were buried in body bags in mass graves. “We expect a very high number of victims. Based on the destroyed districts in the city, there could be 18,000 to 20,000 dead,” Mayor Abdel-Moneim al-Gheithy told the Arabic television channel Al-Arabija.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 30,000 people have become homeless in Darna. 10,000 people have been missing since Monday, but it is unclear how many of them have been found dead or alive since then.
Libya
Floods in Darna
Darna “still full of corpses”
Storm “Daniel” hit the North African country on Sunday. Near Darna, two dams broke above the city of 100,000 inhabitants. UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said: “Entire neighborhoods have disappeared from the map.” The situation is “shocking and heartbreaking.” The most urgent task now is to prevent the spread of diseases.
Eyewitnesses on site reported that Darna was still “full of corpses.” Help is urgently needed. The east of the city in particular is further cut off from the rest. In some cases, communication connections were completely lost. Rescue is difficult.
Numerous countries offer help
The situation on site poses enormous challenges for rescue teams, as access roads have also been washed away and central bridges are buried under masses of mud.
In addition to the THW deliveries, numerous other countries have also offered help. Libya had previously made a request for international assistance. The aid organization Doctors Without Borders also sent an emergency team. It consists of logisticians and medical staff. You should also bring emergency equipment for treating the injured and body bags. Further help comes from the neighboring countries of Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria as well as Turkey, among others. France, the Netherlands and Italy also offered support. The United Nations announced emergency aid worth ten million dollars.
WMO: Many victims could have been prevented
According to the Secretary General of the World Weather Organization (WMO), Petteri Taalas, most of the victims in the flood disaster could have been prevented. If there had been normally operating weather services, they could have issued warnings, he said. “The emergency authorities would have been able to implement the evacuation.”
The WMO said earlier this week that the National Weather Service notified government authorities via email and media 72 hours before the floods. Authorities in eastern Libya had warned the public of an approaching storm and called on residents of coastal areas to evacuate because they expected flash floods from the sea. However, there was no warning about the risk of dam failures.