Eyewitness footage shows burst dam as deadly floods devastate Libyan city
More than 2, 000 bodies have been found in the Libyan city of Derna as the toll is expected to increase significantly from 5,000 presumed and may even double, a minister in the regional administration has said after the city was hit by catastrophic floods.
The “sea is constantly dumping dozens of bodies”, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, minister of civil aviation in the administration that runs eastern Libya, told Reuters, adding that reconstruction would cost billions of dollars.
The confirmed death toll remains disputed so far as officials struggle to assess the damage in the conflict-stricken country. Officials say over 30,000 people remain displaced or missing.
Torrential rains brought by Storm Daniel appear to have overwhelmed multiple dams and sent a river “tsunami” through the city, washing away entire neighbourhoods and sweeping people out to sea, in what has emerged to be the worst climate disaster of 2023 so far.
