“This disaster was very devastating. Waves up to 7 meters high swept buildings and infrastructure into the sea. Many families are now missing their loved ones, bodies washed ashore and homes destroyed” – ICRC chief in Libya Yan Described by Fridays.
According to him, it will take many months, even years to recover from this disaster. The ICRC said it would distribute 6,000 body bags to forensic teams in the city of Benghazi, near the city of Derna, the epicenter of the disaster.
Desolate scenes in the city of Derna – Photo: Reuters
Terrible scene of devastation in Derna city after the disaster – Photo: Reuters
Meanwhile, former Libyan health minister Binya Rida El Oakley told CNN it was even worse. According to him, the “tsunami” caused by the dam failure was as tall as or even taller than a 6-storey building.
Libyan citizen Khaled al-Shuwaid told CNN, “All my friends are dead. A friend of mine was basically filming from the top of the valley. He died. One of the people was one of my friends. Five There are kids, there’s only one of them.” “They came to meet us.”
“Within a few seconds, the water level suddenly rose. When we reached the fourth floor, the water had already reached the second floor” – an injured witness told Arab News at the time he and his mother fled a building Tried to run towards the entrance. When the flood came.
Eyewitnesses in the city of Derna said that the water divided the city into western and eastern parts, with 25% of the infrastructure destroyed right in the middle, where the “tsunami” struck.
Rescue teams are still trying to collect, identify and bury the bodies. Days after the disaster, the smell of death is filling Derna.
Residents of the city of Derna look at the list of missing people on September 14 – Photo: Reuters
Egyptian army search and rescue team operated between the city of Derna – Libya on September 12 – Photo: Reuters
Volunteers arrange clothing to be distributed to disaster survivors – Photo: Reuters
The ICRC said access to flooded areas remains a major challenge as roads have been destroyed.
However, according to the Libyan Ports and Maritime Transport Authority, on 14 September ships entered the port in Derna to provide humanitarian aid in the area.
The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said at least $71.4 million is needed to assist the 884,000 people affected by the disaster in Libya.
Meanwhile, Petter Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), another UN agency, said that most of the deaths in Libya could have been avoided if they had received normal meteorological forecasts along with warning systems and evacuation plans.
As per the update of arab newsOfficials said the death toll has now reached 11,300 and search efforts are ongoing.
The mayor of Derna city, Abdulmenem al-Ghathi, had earlier said that the death toll in the city could be as high as 20,000. Meanwhile, Marie El-Draisy, secretary general of the Libyan Red Crescent, said 10,000 people were still reported missing.
