2023-09-12 10:40:36
Time.news – The city of Derna, in eastern Libya, has been declared a “disaster area” together with various provinces of Cyrenaica after torrential rains unleashed by storm ‘Daniel’ caused catastrophic flash floods throughout the area: many residential buildings were destroyed, overwhelmed by the waters released by the collapse of two dams, which could not withstand the impact. It is the worst disaster in the country for 40 years.
The president of the Libyan Presidential Council, Muhammad Manfi, has asked the international community to provide humanitarian aid but the official budget is still not clear: the Libyan Minister of Health in the government appointed by the Tobruk parliament Othman Abdel Jalil – in statements to Al Jazeera – talked about about two thousand dead in the city of alone Here; but she added that they are feared thousands of missing and that’s what it is anyway complicated deploy relief efforts in areas affected by floods.
At a press conference in Tripoli, the head of the government emergency team of the Government of National Unity, Badreddine Toumi, confirmed that the floods caused by the dam collapse they killed among 1,800 and 1,900 people. The preliminary budget of the crisis room is higher Red Crescentrelaunched by the Turkish agency Anadolou, according to which they died 2,800 people.
The videos circulating on the Internet, but which are not verified, are impressive and show the bodies of dozens of victims who lie in the streets and on the sidewalks while others are exhumed from under the rubble of flooded buildings.
The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, “he learned with ache of the huge damage caused by Hurricane Daniel which hit the eastern part of Libya causing death, injuries and destruction”. Thus the note from Palazzo Chigi which continues by saying: Italy expresses its closeness and solidarity with the families of the victims and the Libyan people and has Civil Protection activated to be able to assist Libya affected by this emergency in the best possible way.
Two dams collapsed in Derna
In Derna, two dams collapsed, releasing 33 million cubic meters of water, writes the Libya Observer. Derna city councilor Ahmed Amdur called for “urgent” international intervention to “save the city”.
The collapse of residential areas and the collapse of public and private buildings and infrastructure has resulted in the closure of land transport routes, and Amdur has called for the opening of a sea corridor to assist residents.
The city of Derna in eastern Libya has been declared a disaster zone after Medicane Daniel caused catastrophic flash flooding across the area overnight. Many residential buildings have been destroyed along the riverbanks. I fear we might be facing a mass casualty event. pic.twitter.com/QoVp8vzjpp
— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) September 11, 2023
The Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU) of Tripoli, Abdulhamid Dbeibahpromised that the State will compensate all people affected by the floods and decreed three days of mourning for the victims. At the same time, he announced the dispatch of 50 ambulances and a team of 75 doctors and nurses to Derna, as well as a convoy to strengthen rural hospitals.
The head of Tripoli’s General Services Company, Mohamed Ismail, said 53 trucks and 10 heavy machines had been sent to support relief efforts. The United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement that it was closely monitoring the emergency situation and was “ready to provide support to those affected”.
Schools, shops and oil fields closed
The Libyan central bank has announced the creation of a crisis committee to cover the liquidity needs of the eastern government, commercial banks and citizens of the affected areas. For its part, the parallel executive, backed by parliament and based in Benghazi, has closed all public institutions and schools – with the exception of security forces, medical personnel and essential professionals – in the Cyrenaica region that its administration controls.
Both authorities have taken precautionary measures such as closing schools and shops, imposing a curfew to prevent citizens from leaving their homes and closing major oil fields.
“There was a dam.”
Clear scenes of the remains of the Wadi #Derna city Dam after it collapsed due to torrential rains#Libya pic.twitter.com/WjepG72HtJ– Mahmud Mohammed (@MahmudM27830556) September 11, 2023
No Italians were involved
After hitting Greece and Turkey in recent days, Cyclone Daniel was downgraded to a subtropical storm on September 9 and is expected to weaken in the Maghreb country from Monday as it heads towards neighboring Egypt, according to a report from the Regional Meteorological Center Arabic.
“The Italian government is carefully following the consequences of the floods in Libya. We are in contact with the Libyan authorities to evaluate the type of aid to be sent immediately to the Libyan people. At the moment, we are not aware of any Italians involved”. The Foreign Minister wrote it on Twitter, Antonio Tajani.
#Hurricane #Daniel #devastates #Libya #thousands #dead #Meloni #Ready