Official figures currently point to more than six thousand deaths, but authorities fear that the number of fatalities will increase due to the tragic floods that devastated the city of Derna, in Libya, last Sunday. can reach 20 thousand. One of the main concerns of the Libyan authorities at the moment is the shortage of body bags: as the sea continues to bring bodies and around 10,000 people are still missing, there are fears that the large number of bodies could lead to an epidemic in the city.
“In fact, we need specialized teams in the recovery of bodies,” said the mayor of Derna, Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi, in statements quoted by Al Jazeera. “I fear that the city will be infected by an epidemic due to the large number of corpses in the rubble and in the water.”
According to Al Jazeera, rescue teams have been calling for international help, especially for more body bags, as thousands of people were swept into the sea by Sunday’s floods and bodies continue to appear at a high rate.
Thousands of people are believed to have died after a severe storm caused severe flooding in the coastal city of Derna on Sunday night, causing dams to fail and causing several buildings in the city to collapse. Many people were taken by surprise while they were sleeping. On Wednesday, the official death toll was already around six thousand, but the mayor of Derna pointed out the possibility that the final number of victims could be between 18,000 and 20,000, as thousands of people remain missing while desperate relatives search for them. .
Several residents of the city of Derna described to Al Jazeera the horror they had experienced since Sunday. “There is no water, electricity or fuel,” said journalist Mabrooka Elmesmary, calling the floods a “disaster on a massive scale” and stressing that the city is “devastated.” On the other hand, there are thousands of people trying to escape from Derna, but they find it with great difficulties, since “many of the roads are blocked or have disappeared.”
The city remains covered in mud, while in the beach area They continue to appear on the shore, in addition to human bodies, toys, furniture, shoes and other objects who were swept away from collapsed buildings by the currents.
Little by little, international aid begins to reach the most affected region. Teams from Egypt, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Qatar are already on the ground, with field hospitals and rescue teams, and equipment such as water pumps, thermal sensors and other materials to assist in the rescue. Countries have also sent planes and ships to help evacuate people from the affected area.
In statements cited by the Associated Press, a member of the rescue teams stated that There are “bodies everywhere, inside the houses, in the streets, in the sea”. “Everywhere we go, we find dead men, women and children,” said Emad al-Falah, stressing that “whole families died.”
To prevent the spread of disease, hundreds of people are buried in mass graves.
Source: Observadora
