Hopes of finding survivors fade in the Libyan city of Derna six days after floods that left thousands dead, while humanitarian groups warn of the danger of disease and problems in providing aid.
The waterspout that fell last weekend in the port city burst two dams and caused a dazzling flood that destroyed everything in its path: buildings, vehicles, people.
(Also: Libya searches for survivors after the passage of Cyclone Daniel: 6,872 dead).
The flood, comparable to a tsunami of several meters, left a landscape of desolation, with much of the city devastated as if a strong earthquake had occurred, said an AFP photographer.
Entire buildings were washed away. Others are half destroyed, with vehicles wedged into their walls. Before the catastrophe, the city had 100,000 inhabitants. “At least 10,000” are missing, according to the UN, although the exact number of victims is still unknown. Officials of the authority that controls the eastern part of Libya, which is not the government recognized by the UN, speak of contradictory figures.
The Ministry of the Interior in this sector reported at least 3,800 deaths.
On the ground, the situation is “chaotic”, which makes it difficult to count and identify the victims, explained Manoelle Carton, medical coordinator of a team from Doctors Without Borders.
They warn of a second humanitarian crisis due to the growing risk of waterborne diseases
(Be sure to read: Shocking video: sea returns bodies that were swept away after Cyclone Daniel).
“Numerous volunteers from all over Libya and abroad are on site. The coordination of aid is urgent,” insisted this aid worker, concerned about the proliferation of “water-related diseases.”
The NGO Islamic Relief expressed the same sentiment, warning of a “second humanitarian crisis” due to the “increasing risk of water-borne diseases and shortages of food, shelter and medicine.”
“In conditions like these, diseases can spread quickly because water systems are contaminated.“warned its deputy director Salah Aboulgasem.
“The city smells like death. Almost everyone has lost someone they know,” he said.
(Also: There are about 10,000 missing due to Cyclone Daniel in Libya, according to the Red Cross).
A divided country
Rescuers from the Libyan Red Crescent still “continue to search for possible survivors and remove bodies from under the rubble in the most affected neighborhoods,” explained its spokesperson Taufik Chokri.
Other teams are trying to deliver aid to families in the eastern part of the city, the hardest hit, but also inaccessible by road, he said.
Search and rescue efforts hampered by political chaos that prevails in this North African country since the death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Currently, there are two competing governments: one in Tripoli, recognized by the UN and led by Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, and another in the east, controlled by the influential Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Stéphanie Williams, a US diplomat and former UN representative in Libya, called for urgent international intervention and proposed creating “a joint national/international mechanism to oversee funds” for aid.
(We recommend: In photos: the catastrophe that Libya is experiencing due to the floods that have devastated cities).
In a message on X (formerly Twitter), Williams attacked Libyan leaders for “using the pretext of sovereignty” to direct aid operations “according to their interests.”
Marshal Haftar’s spokesman, Ahmad al Mesmari, acknowledged “enormous needs for reconstruction” during a news conference Friday in Benghazi, the large city in eastern Libya and the birthplace of the anti-Gaddafi uprising.
In the rival camp, Prime Minister Dbeibah estimated this week that the absence of adequate development plans in the east and “usury” contributed to the catastrophe.
“It is one of the consequences of disputes, wars and waste of funds,” he said.
The UN launched an urgent appeal to raise $71 million and its humanitarian affairs officerMartin Griffiths, called for the coordination of both rival governments to mitigate the catastrophe.
AFP
More news in EL TIEMPO
#Hopes #finding #survivors #floods #fade #Libya