Contaminated water in Libya floods poisons 55 children

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Sep 2023 18:27
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The head of al-Bayda health institution warns that the delayed finding of the corpses in Derna might lead to the outbreak of diseases and infections.

Children walk in the street in a flood-damaged area in Derna, east Libya on September 11, 2023. (AFP)

At least 55 children in the northern Libyan city of Derna have been poisoned as a result of water pollution caused by the recent floods, according to the head of the Libyan National Disease Control Center, Haider al-Sayeh, on Friday.

Abderrahim Mazyek, the head of al-Bayda health institution and a member of the governmental committee on emergencies in eastern Libya, told Sputnik that the delayed finding of the corpses in Derna might lead to the outbreak of diseases and infections.

Al-Sayeh told Libyan news agency Abaad that 55 cases of poisoning have been reported already, stressing the importance of evacuation.

Rescue workers in the devastated city of Derna have appealed for more body bags after a catastrophic flood killed thousands of people and swept many out to sea overnight on Monday.

International aid is slowly starting to reach the port city after Storm Daniel hit the northern coast of Libya on Saturday night. As many as 20,000 people are feared to have died, The Guardian reported.

The Libyan Minister of Civil Aviation in the eastern administration of Libya, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, told reporters on Wednesday that hospitals in eastern Libya are unable to accommodate all the victims of the fatal floods.

On September 10, Libya experienced heavy rainfall due to Storm Daniel, resulting in severe flooding in the eastern part of the country.

If Derna in Libya looks like a war zone, it's because we are in a war against fossil fuels, and right now they are winning.

🎥: Alwasat Libya pic.twitter.com/LtEIup37e4
— Extinction Rebellion Global (@ExtinctionR) September 14, 2023

Morocco & Libya Disasters

Natural disasters have struck North Africa; From a 7 magnitude earthquake that hit the province of al-Haouz, Morocco, to a catastrophic flooding breaking dams and sweeping away homes in Libya. In Morocco, the earthquake has killed more than 2,000 people and caused severe damage in several areas. Rescuers are digging through rubble in the remote mountains of Morocco in a desperate bid to find survivors from the deadliest earthquake to strike the country in decades. While 2,000 people have died and 10,000 are believed missing after Storm Daniel dumped so much rain on Libya’s northeast that two dams collapsed sending water flowing into already inundated areas.