The situation in Darna, in northeastern Libya, is dire. Mayor Abdel-Moneim al-Gheithy said on the Arabic television channel Al-Arabija: “We expect a very large number of victims. Based on the destroyed districts in Darna city, 18,000 to 20,000 deaths could occur.”
Satellite images show how bad the situation is:
Storm Daniel hit the North African country on Sunday. Two dams broke near Darna and entire neighborhoods of the city, which has a population of 100,000, were washed into the sea.
Not only houses but also streets were simply washed away.
The search for survivors continues in the rubble. In Darna alone, 30,000 people have become homeless.
According to estimates by the UN Emergency Relief Office (OCHA), 884,000 people live in the disaster area. At least 250,000 of them need urgent help.
To achieve this, emergency aid of 71.4 million dollars (about 63 million francs) is needed to support people for three months.
Eyewitnesses report that Darna is still full of corpses even days after the disaster. Victims found had to be buried in mass graves.
According to the Red Cross, recovery from the disaster could take years. “It will take many months, perhaps years, for local residents to recover from this enormous scale of destruction,” Yann Fridez, head of the Libyan delegation to the ICRC, said on Thursday.
«This catastrophe was intense and cruel. A seven-meter high wave destroyed buildings and washed infrastructure into the sea,” Fridez continued.
Now family members are missing and bodies are “washing back to shore.” Darna is now facing “massive psychological trauma”.
The ICRC was already active in Libya before the floods and has now sent additional teams and relief supplies to the affected region. This included medicine and food, as well as approximately 6,000 body bags. Thousands of families need help after the disaster caused by Storm Daniel.
With material from the SDA and DPA news agencies.
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
