Tripoli: The death toll from devastating floods that hit Libya’s eastern city of Derna on Sunday has risen to 3,060, while 5,200 others are missing. “Authorities have buried 2,800 bodies after they have been identified by relatives, while 260 unidentified bodies remain in the city’s hospital,” Tarek al-Kharraz, interior ministry spokesman for the eastern city, told Xinhua news agency on Tuesday.
Al-Kharraz said 5,200 people were missing. He said the death toll could be much higher as search and rescue operations are still ongoing, and more bodies are being recovered from various locations within the city. According to media reports, aid and rescue efforts began reaching Derna on Tuesday, more than 36 hours after the disaster struck the coastal city. The floods have either seriously damaged or completely destroyed many roads leading to the city. The population of the city is about 89,000.
Meanwhile, Libyan envoy Tamer Ramadan, representing the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told a UN meeting on Tuesday that he believed at least 10,000 people were still missing in flood-hit areas. Are. The Mediterranean storm that hit eastern Libya on Sunday has caused massive flooding. Libyan Presidency Council Chairman Mohammed Menfi called for international aid on Monday to help after the floods, declaring the cities of Derna, al-Bayda and Shahhat as areas in desperate need of aid.
