2023-09-12 08:43:00
Storm Daniel has already killed at least 27 people in recent days in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. The figure of “more than 2,000 deaths” was put forward by a local official.
By LL with AFP The damage caused by storm Daniel in Derna in Libya on September 11, 2023. © HANDOUT / ANADOLU AGENCY / Anadolu Agency via AFP Published on 09/12/2023 at 08:43 a.m.
Eastern Libya was in turn hit by storm Daniel after Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. An official source indicated that floods caused by heavy rains left at least 150 dead. Speaking on the Almasar channel, the head of the executive in eastern Libya, Osama Hamad, put forward the figures of “more than 2,000 dead and thousands of missing” in the city of Derna alone, but none No medical source or emergency services have confirmed this report.
If the eastern Libyan media widely reported Osama Hamad’s statements, the separate reports they reported from different localities were much lower than the figures he put forward. “At least 150 people were killed due to flooding caused by storm Daniel in Derna, the Jabal Al-Akhdar regions and the suburbs of Al-Marj,” Mohamed Massoud, gatekeeper, previously told AFP. – speech of the head of the eastern executive.
Described by experts as an “extreme” phenomenon in terms of the quantity of water that fell, Storm Daniel has already caused at least 27 deaths in recent days in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. Daniel hit eastern Libya on Sunday afternoon, notably the coastal towns of Jabal al-Akhdar (north-east), but also Benghazi where a curfew was declared and schools closed. The east of the country is home to the main oil fields and terminals. The National Oil Company (NOC) has declared a “state of maximum alert” and “suspended flights” between production sites where activity has been drastically reduced.
READ ALSOClimate: why rich countries must pay for poor countries
“Destroyed City”
Rescue teams were dispatched on Sunday to Derna, a town located 900 km east of Tripoli and 300 km east of Benghazi and which was partially destroyed during violent clashes in 2018 between the forces of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, a strongman from eastern Libya, and radical Islamist groups who controlled the city. With a population of more than 100,000 inhabitants, the coastal town is crossed by a wadi which flows into the Mediterranean and which overflowed due to the storm for around fifty meters on each side, carrying away buildings and houses in its path, according to videos broadcast by the media.
Earlier Monday, before going there with his ministers, Osama Hamad declared Derna a “disaster city”. Hundreds of residents are still stranded in areas that are difficult to access while rescue teams, supported by the army, try to help them. Authorities in eastern Libya “lost contact with nine soldiers during rescue operations in this town”, according to Mohamed Massoud. Footage shot by residents of eastern cities like Derna, al-Bayda and smaller towns shows massive mudslides and entire neighborhoods under water, as well as collapsed roads and buildings.
READ ALSOFrançois Gemenne: “Development aid is unthinkable in climate policies”
A Derna city council official described the situation in his city as “catastrophic”, “out of control” and requiring “national and international intervention”, in statements to the local channel Libya al-Ahrar. On Monday, Presidential Council (CP) head Mohamad al-Manfi called for “help from brotherly and friendly countries and international organizations” and officially declared the eastern towns of Derna, Shahat and al-Bayda Libya a “disaster zone”, according to a statement on Facebook. He reported the collapse of four main bridges and two buildings as well as the city’s two dams.
Three days of national mourning
Endowed with the most abundant oil reserves in Africa, Libya has been plunged into chaos since the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and rocked by divisions and violence. For a year and a half, two governments have been competing for power there: that of Abdelhamid Dbeibah in the West, recognized by the UN, and that appointed by Parliament and supported by Marshal Haftar.
READ ALSOSecret Services: “In Libya, we made mistakes”
During an extraordinary council of ministers broadcast live on television on Monday, Abdelhamid Dbeibah announced “three days of national mourning”, emphasizing “the unity of all Libyans” in the face of this catastrophe. The UN mission in Libya said it was “closely monitoring the emergency situation”, and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed “solidarity with the Libyan people”. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller also expressed his “sympathy and condolences” and said Washington was working with the United Nations and Libyan authorities to help with relief efforts.
#floods #torrential #rain #kill