Death toll in Libya's Derna exceeds 5,300 people

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Sep 2023 20:35
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The death toll in Libya continues to rise, exceeding 5,300 people in the city of Derna, as rescue operations carry on.

A general view of the city of Derna is seen on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. (AP)

The Libyan city of Derna's devastating death toll has exceeded 5,300 people, the Ministry of Interior's spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“At the moment, the death toll in the city of Derna as a result of storm Daniel is more than 5,300,” the spokesperson said, reaffirming that the rescue operations remained ongoing.

Earlier, AFP reported, citing a Red Cross source, that the death toll from the devastating floods in eastern Libya is expected to soar dramatically, with thousands of people reported missing.

"The death toll is huge and might reach the thousands," said Tamer Ramadan of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"We confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 persons so far."

Moreover, the spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA), Maj. Gen. Ahmed Al-Mismari told Sputnik that five to six thousand are missing in eastern Libya as a result of the heavy floods from Storm Daniel.

Libyan media reported that the rains from Storm Daniel caused high water levels in multiple cities in eastern Libya, such as al-Bayda and Derna, while air and sea ports were closed as a result and curfews have been imposed in the flood-affected cities.

The cities of Susah and Derna have been declared natural disaster zones as well.

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.