'When I came, I found everything — my building, my family, the whole neighborhood — under the sea. Everything disappeared,' one man told NBC News.
exacerbated by the chaotic and often crumbling state of the North African country after years of civil conflict left itThousands of people have been killed in the coastal city, with thousands more missing as residents and those with family in the area are faced with the aftermath of the devastating deluge.
Yet numbers and scenes beamed around the world on TV and social media are nothing in comparison to the reality, Al-Shalwi warned. The sea has taken the buildings, people, memories and history of an entire city. "Every day I’m going to the hospital to see if there’s a body, or if someone survived, if they are a member of the family. I’m dying every moment. I have hope that maybe one of my family will survive," he said.Ayman Al-Sahili / Reuters
Soon the sounds were of shouting, and then of final prayers from people sheltering on rooftops in the dark of night, said Yousef Saleh Yousef Al-Shaari, 30, a civil servant who lives near one of the two ruined dams. When morning came he walked down into the valley, now a bloated river delta full of"apocalyptic" scenes of death and destruction.
He said 29 members of his extended family are missing. One was found dead, their body washed up some 3 miles away.
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