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Storm disaster – Libya: UN speaks of 11,000 dead – more dams at risk – News

18 September 2023

A week after the severe flooding in Libya, terrible conditions continue to prevail in the disaster areas.
In the heavily damaged port city of Darna, bodies are still washing up or decomposing under the rubble, the Arabic broadcaster Al-Jazeera reported.
According to the UN Emergency Relief Office (OCHA), around 11,300 people died in Darna alone – over 10,000 more people are still missing.

According to Taufik al-Shukri, spokesman for the Red Crescent, survivors were also rescued from collapsed buildings on Saturday. He couldn’t say how many in an interview with dpa. Al-Shukri was skeptical about OCHA’s figures. When asked, he said he didn’t know the source of the numbers – official numbers only come from the authorities.

The UN Emergency Relief Office (OCHA) is concerned about two additional dams behind which large amounts of water are expected to accumulate. It’s about the Jasa Dam between the partially destroyed city of Darna and Benghazi and the Kattara Dam near Benghazi, as OCHA announced. Reports about the situation are contradictory. According to the authorities, both dams are in good condition and functioning. According to authorities, pumps will be installed at the Jasa Dam to relieve the pressure on the dam, according to OCHA.

More and more aid supplies are arriving through Benghazi Airport in the poor North African country, which has been marked by years of civil war. But it’s hundreds of kilometers from there to the disaster area. Many roads and bridges have been destroyed and convoys carrying relief supplies are stuck in kilometer-long traffic jams, as Caroline Holt, global operations manager for the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, reported on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

The distribution of food, medicine, tarpaulins and other things remains difficult. According to the organization Doctors Without Borders, helpers are urging that the operations be better coordinated.

Tens of thousands without shelter

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 35,000 people have lost their accommodation in Darna.

At least six people have died in a traffic accident in eastern Libya – including three Greek emergency workers, according to the Greek General Staff. Two other members of the Greek humanitarian mission are missing. The team was traveling on a bus towards the port city of Darna and collided with another vehicle.

According to the WHO, around 4,000 deaths had been identified and registered with death certificates by the end of last week. Concerned about the spread of diseases such as cholera, the government in the capital Tripoli ordered water companies to distribute drinking water.

Legend:

Rescue workers are looking for survivors in Darna.

KEYSTONE/AP/YOUSEF MURAD

Storm “Daniel”, which has already caused devastating storms in Greece and elsewhere, hit the coast last Sunday. After extreme rainfall, two dams burst on Monday night. The flood of water washed entire neighborhoods into the sea.

Before the disaster, Darna had around 100,000 inhabitants. The Libyan prosecutor Al-Sedik al-Sur has started an investigation. The dams were said to have cracked and there was said to have been money for maintenance. The public prosecutor now wants to clarify the whereabouts of the money.

It has little influence in the east of the country because a rival government is in power there. However, all politicians have promised to put aside their rivalries and work together in view of the emergency.

Fear of cholera

By Saturday, around 150 cases of diarrhea had been reported. The reason is contaminated drinking water, said the head of the Center for Disease Control, Haidar al-Sajih.

There is a great fear of disease, especially cholera. Streets were already smoked out on Saturday and water samples are regularly taken for analysis. According to authorities, vaccinations began to be administered on Sunday.