DERNA (AFP) – A week after a wall of water devastated the Libyan coastal city of Derna, sweeping thousands to their deaths, the focus yesterday increasingly turned to caring for the survivors. Amid the chaotic rescue efforts in the war-scarred country, the death toll from the floods has varied widely, from more than 3,000 to over 11,000.
The most recent official toll, from the health minister of the eastern-based administration, Othman Abdeljalil, was that 3,252 people were killed. The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs yesterday warned that the toll from Derna alone could be as high as 11,300, with another 10,100 missing.
But the Libyan Red Crescent, which was cited by the UN agency, had previously denied a UN death toll of over 10,000, saying it only had one official spokesperson and calling on media to “exercise caution and accuracy”.
The conflicting tolls are testament to the division and absence of centralised power that have wracked Libya since 2011’s NATO-backed uprising that overthrew dictator Moamer Kadhafi and plunged the country into years of war.
Aid is now arriving in the North African country as the world mobilises to help emergency services cope with the aftermath of the deadly flood.
At least 40,000 people have been displaced across northeastern Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration, which cautioned the actual number is likely higher given the difficulty accessing the worst-affected areas.
Two dams upstream from Derna burst a week ago under the pressure of torrential rains from the hurricane-strength Storm Daniel.
The dams had been built upriver from the port city of 100,000 people after it was hit by significant flooding in the mid-20th Century.
The banks of a dried riverbed or wadi running through the city centre had been heavily built on, and last week’s torrent swept everything before it as it rushed towards the Mediterranean. A week on, bodies are still being found, some washing up on the sea shore.
A rescue crew from Malta’s Civil Protection Department discovered a beach strewn with bodies on Friday, the Times of Malta newspaper reported.
International aid is arriving from the UN, Europe and the Middle East, offering some relief. The aid includes water, food, tents, blankets, hygiene kits and medicines and emergency surgical supplies, as well as body bags and heavy machinery to help clear the debris.
In Al-Bayda, 100 kilometres west of Derna, residents waded through the layer of mud caking the floors of what were once their homes.
Ayman Jabril Saleh, a resident of Al-Bayda who survived the flood with his family inside their house, said “when we saw the state of Derna, we felt blessed” for suffering material losses only.
The damage for the devastating flooding brought by Storm Daniel was exacerbated by poor infrastructure in Libya.
Questions are being asked as to why the disaster could not have been prevented, when cracks in the dams have been known about since 1998.
