Thousands reportedly dead after devastating floods in eastern Libya

The death toll from floods in the eastern Libyan city of Derna has risen above 2,000, local media reported.

Further thousands are believed to be missing, Libyan News Agency (LANA) cited Ossama Hamad, head of Libya's eastern parliament-backed government, as saying on Monday.

Hamad also said entire residential blocks were erased after they were swept away by the floods in Derna.

Early on Monday, the head of Libya’s Tripoli-based unity government, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, declared all areas exposed to the storm and floods as "disaster zones."

Dbeibeh also announced three days of national mourning for the victims of deadly floods that ravaged the North African country.

Storm Daniel swept several areas in eastern Libya on Sunday, most notably the cities of Benghazi, Bayda, and Al Marj, as well as Soussa and Derna, according to an Anadolu reporter in the field.

The destruction appears greatest in Derna, the city where the chaos left it with inadequate infrastructure. Libya remains divided between two rival administrations, one in the east and one in the west, Libya's internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA)

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 centre. Multi-storey apartment buildings that once stood well back from the river were partially collapsed into the mud.