The situation in Libya remains dramatic with temperatures up to 33 degrees: coral bleaching in the Caribbean is worse than ever before

Even a week after the serious floods in Libya, the situation in the country is catastrophic. Emergency services are looking for thousands of missing people. More and more deaths are occurring.

More than 21,000 dead and missing, massive destruction and serious problems with the drinking water supply – a week after the Darna flood, the situation in the Libyan coastal town remains catastrophic.

The UN said the number of victims is expected to continue to rise due to the tireless search for possible survivors. At least 40,000 people in northeastern Libya have been displaced by the floods, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Egypt has sent an aircraft carrier to Libya to provide medical care to flood victims. As Egypt’s state information service announced, the aircraft carrier ‘Mistral’ arrived in the North African civil war country on Sunday (local time), where it will support emergency services as a floating hospital. The Libyan online newspaper “The Lebanon Observer” also reported on the arrival, citing Egyptian media. The ship has a clinic of 900 square meters including modern operating rooms.

The UN Emergency Relief Office (OCHA) is concerned about two more dams behind which large amounts of water are expected to accumulate. This concerns the Jasa Dam between the partially destroyed city of Darna and Benghazi and the Kattara Dam near Benghazi, OCHA announced on Sunday evening. Reports about the situation are conflicting. According to authorities, both dams are in good condition and functioning. Authorities said pumps will be installed at Jasa Dam to relieve pressure on the dam, OCHA said.

According to the Times of Malta newspaper, Maltese rescuers discovered hundreds of bodies in a bay. “There were probably 400, but it’s hard to say,” operations chief Natalino Bezzina told the newspaper, without naming the exact location. The bay is difficult to access due to the strong wind. However, his team was able to help save several dozen victims.

A Libyan emergency team on a rubber boat reported in a video shared on online networks that they had discovered “perhaps 600 bodies” in the sea in the Om-al-Briket region, about 20 kilometers east of Darna. It was unclear whether it was the same location that the Maltese emergency services were talking about.

OCHA said the humanitarian situation in Darna remains “particularly dire”. There are serious problems with the drinking water supply and at least 55 children have been poisoned by contaminated drinking water. About 150 cases of diarrhea had been reported on Saturday. According to the UN Coordination Office, there is also a risk of injury or death in the Darna area from landmines moved or washed away by the floods.

Health Minister Abdeljalil dismissed rumors of a possible evacuation of Darna. Only “certain parts” of the city would be “isolated” to make rescue efforts easier, he explained. To protect against epidemics, water samples are taken and analyzed daily.

Aid group Islamic Relief said there was a risk of a “second humanitarian crisis” in Darna. There is a “growing threat of water-borne diseases” such as cholera. There is also a lack of food, shelter and medicine in Darna. “The city smells of death,” said Salah Abulgasem of Islamic Relief.

Meanwhile, the organization Doctors Without Borders moved teams to the east of the country to check water and sanitation there. In such a disaster, “we can really worry about water-borne diseases,” says medical coordinator Manoelle Carton.

She spoke of a “chaotic” situation in Darna. Given the large number of volunteers from Libya and abroad, “coordination of aid is urgently needed.” Meanwhile, additional emergency services and 29 tons of medical supplies arrived at Benghazi airport, more than 300 kilometers west of Darna, for flood victims in Darna and the surrounding area.

This means that almost 250,000 people can receive medical care, as the WHO announced. This includes essential medicines for chronic and communicable diseases, as well as materials for wound care, emergency surgery and body bags. The material goes to clinics and practices in the region.

(rbu/t-online/sda/dpa)