The confirmed death toll from the weekend flooding did not include Derna, which was inaccessible, and many of the thousands missing there were believed carried away by waters after two dams burst.
In this photo provided by the Libyan government, a car sits partly suspended in trees after being carried by floodwaters in Derna, Libya, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.In this photo provided by the Libyan government, a car sits partly suspended in trees after being carried by floodwaters in Derna, Libya, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
Video by residents of the city posted online showed major devastation. Entire residential areas were erased along a river that runs down from the mountains through the city center. Multistory apartment buildings that once stood well back from the river were partially collapsed into the mud. Since a 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed long-time ruler Moammar Gadhafi, Libya has lacked a central government and the resulting lawlessness has meant dwindling investment in the country's roads and public services and also minimal regulation of private building. The country is now split between rival governments in the east and west, each backed by an array of militias.
The Libyan Red Crescent said three of its workers had died while helping families in Derna. Earlier, the group said it lost contact with one of its workers as he attempted to help a stuck family in Bayda. Dozens of others were reported missing, and authorities fear they could have died in the floods that destroyed homes and other properties in several towns in eastern Libya, according to local media.
"I am deeply saddened by the severe impact of Daniel on the country ... I call on all local, national, and international partners to join hands to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the people in eastern Libya," she wrote on X platform, formerly known as Twitter. Controlling eastern and western Libya, Cmdr. Khalifa Hifter deployed troops to help residents in Benghazi and other eastern towns. Ahmed al-Mosmari, a spokesperson for Hifter's forces, said they lost contact with five troops who were helping besieged families in Bayda.