Libya Flood: Toll Crosses 11,000, Authorities Close City Borders For Civilians As Over 10,000 Still Missing

Authorities have closed the border of the Libyan city of Derna to facilitate rescue teams to carry out search operations as over 10,000 persons continue to remain missing.

Thousands have lost their lives while over 10,000 continue to be missing after a destructive flood in Libya tore apart the city of Derna. According to The Associated Press, the authorities blocked civilians from entering the flood-stricken eastern city on Friday to allow search teams to look through the mud and wrecked buildings for people still missing. The toll has risen to 11,300, while many more are presumed to be dead.  

The disaster was triggered after two dams collapsed following heavy rains and sent a massive flood through the Mediterranean city early Monday, the report added. The oil-rich state has already been suffering the split between rival governments in the east and west since 2014 and the catastrophic development has nearly perished the country.  

Director General of the Ambulance and Emergency Service in eastern Libya Salam al-Fergany on Thursday announced that Derna was being evacuated and only search and rescue teams would be allowed to enter. 

According to AP’s report, relief efforts have been slowed by the destruction after several bridges that connect the city were destroyed. 

The Libyan Red Crescent said that as of Thursday, 11,300 people in Derna had died and another 10,100 were reported missing.  

Meanwhile, Eastern Libya’s health minister said the burials so far have been done in mass graves outside Derna and nearby towns and cities. He said that rescue teams were searching through wreckage and buildings in the city center and divers were combing the sea off Derna. 

Rescue work is slowly starting to gain some pace following the devastating flood that hit northern Libya’s Derna due to Storm Daniel. Currently, there are about 20,000 presumably dead in the coastal city which has become a topic of great discussion. The scattered bodies have created an endemic scare. Reports said that rescue workers were requesting more body bags to keep diseases from spreading. The scale of devastation has turned out to be much worse than what the authorities had initially predicted.