A week after Hurricane Daniel swept through the city of Derna on the eastern Libyan coast, Libyan ambulance services, supported by foreign teams, continue to search for thousands of dead and missing as a result of the disaster. Estimates of the human toll reported as of yesterday varied, while health officials in eastern Libya said… the latest count was 3,252, but the United Nations said the number could be higher than 11,000, while the World Health Organization said 3,958 bodies had been recovered and identified and returned to their owners. Death certificates were issued.
Cyclone Daniel, which hit eastern Libya last Monday night, brought heavy rains, collapsed two dams in Terna, led to the overflowing of a river crossing the city, and tsunami-sized water, washing away all buildings, bridges and buildings. Roads in its path cause thousands of deaths.
Amid the devastation that spread across the city, bodies were recovered and buried every day under the rubble of destroyed neighborhoods or from the sea, according to residents, most of the victims were buried in the mud or washed into the Mediterranean Sea.
According to a video clip posted on social media, the Libyan Relief Committee said its members saw around 600 bodies in the sea off the Umm al-Burayqa area, twenty kilometers from Derna.
Libyan and foreign aid groups report bodies being found daily, but tons of mud that has buried parts of the city make search operations difficult, and paramedics are often forced to shovel mud to search for bodies in destroyed buildings.
Tawfiq Shukri, a spokesman for the Libyan Red Cross, denied United Nations figures that put the number of people affected by the floods in Terna and other parts of Libya at 11,300. Issued by authority recognized by the Libyan authorities.
The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs reported that the death toll from the Terna floods had risen to 11,300, while the number of missing was estimated at 10,100, explaining that other towns in Jabal al-Akhtar lost 170 people. As a result of the cyclone and accompanying flooding.
The United Nations expected the number to rise, and noted that teams were still working to find survivors, explaining that the humanitarian situation remained bleak, particularly in Terna, a week after Hurricane Daniel.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission in Libya, Abdullah Badili, said after traveling to the city of Derna that the United Nations is effectively cooperating with local authorities and relief agencies to help victims. East Libya is worst hit by floods.
In a post on social media site “X”, he said, “I left Terna with sadness after witnessing the loss of lives and destruction of private and public property due to floods. The devastation I saw up close. The crisis exceeds Libya’s ability to manage it, and transcends politics and borders.
Patelli continued: “The United Nations is working effectively with local authorities and relief agencies to provide the necessary assistance to those in need. “At the same time, the UN team is further assessing the situation to improve the coordination of response efforts in Terna and other affected areas.”
In addition, the official Libyan News Agency reported that a team appointed by the National Unity Government to assess the damage in the city of Derna estimated the total number of buildings damaged by floods and flooding at around 1,500 out of a total of 6,142 buildings. The committee explained in preliminary figures that the total number of buildings destroyed in the city was 891 buildings, 211 buildings were partially destroyed, around 398 buildings were submerged in mud and the total area of flooded and inundated area in Terna was calculated. Six square kilometers.
