bAccording to rescue workers, more than 2,300 people have died in the devastating floods in eastern Libya in the port city of Darna alone. Around 7,000 more people were injured, a spokesman for the Libyan emergency and rescue services told the AFP news agency on Tuesday. More than 5,000 people are still missing.
A representative of the Darna municipality described the situation on site as “catastrophic”. Four important bridges, two buildings and two dams collapsed. The city needs “national and international help,” he said. Darna is located 900 kilometers east of the Libyan capital Tripoli and has a population of 100,000.
Caused by the storm “Daniel”, the east of the North African country was hit by heavy rain on Sunday, which led to severe flooding and devastated numerous places.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent spoke of 10,000 missing people on Tuesday morning. 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.”
Meanwhile, experts are urging rapid international help. Turkey has now organized the dispatch of rescue workers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on the online platform X (formerly Twitter) that flights had been organized with rescue teams including lifeboats, tents and supplies on board. The port city of Darna was particularly badly affected by Storm Daniel. Video images on social media showed destroyed houses and cars in streets flooded with mud as a result of massive rains.
Affected regions declared “disaster areas”.
The UN humanitarian coordinator in Libya, Georgette Gagnon, called on the international community to provide rapid assistance. Initial reports indicate that dozens of villages and towns have been severely affected, Gagnon wrote on the X platform. According to the emergency services, the northeast is particularly affected.
The government in the capital Tripoli under Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaiba spoke of the heaviest rainfall in more than 40 years. According to the local council, the situation in Darna 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”.
A civil war broke out in Libya after the fall of long-time ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011. Numerous militias are still fighting for influence in the oil-rich state in North Africa. Two hostile governments, each with one seat in the east and one in the west, are currently fighting for power. All diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully have so far failed. The conflict is being further fueled by foreign states.
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