Libya floods death toll could hit 20,000, says mayor as survivors search for loved ones

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DERNA: Survivors of a flood that swept away the centre of a Libyan city picked through the ruins on Thursday (Sep 14) in search of loved ones from among thousands of dead and missing, while authorities feared an outbreak of disease from rotting bodies.

burst dams on Sunday night and hurtled down a seasonal riverbed that bisects the city, washing multi-storey buildings into the sea with sleeping families inside. Thousands of people are confirmed dead and thousands more missing, with the mayor saying the toll could reach 20,000.

Husadi, who had been working the night of the storm, dialled his wife's phone number once again. It was switched off.Hassan El Salheen, weeps after burying the repatriated body of his son, Aly, who died along with his three cousins in Libya after Storm Daniel hit the country, at Al Sharief village in Bani Swief province, Egypt September 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

"All were swept away by the valley into the sea," he said."May God have mercy upon them and grant them heaven." "We actually need teams specialised in recovering bodies," he told Reuters in Derna."I fear that the city will be infected with an epidemic due to the large number of bodies under the rubble and in the water."Rescue teams have arrived from Egypt, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Qatar, al-Ghaithi said. Turkey is sending a ship carrying equipment to set up two field hospitals.

Damage from massive flooding is seen in Derna, Libya, Sep 13, 2023. Search teams are combing streets, wrecked buildings, and even the sea to look for bodies in Derna, where the collapse of two dams unleashed a massive flash flood that killed thousands of people.

 

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