Death toll from devastating Libya floods tops 5,000 in Derna alone

People stand at a damaged site as a powerful storm and heavy rainfall flooded Shahhat city, Libya. (Photo/Reuters)

The death toll from devastating floods in Libya's eastern city of Derna has risen to 5,300, the country's official news agency reported.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry in the eastern Libya of the government appointed by the House of Representatives said that thousands of people are still missing.

Earlier Tareq al Kharaz, a spokesperson for the east-based Interior Ministry, told Anadolu that around 1,300 bodies have so far been buried after being identified by families.

"Entire families have vanished as a result of the deadly storm," Kharaz said. "Many corpses could not be identified and were not buried."

The Libyan spokesperson anticipates the death toll in Derna to jump over 10,000 amid massive damage to infrastructure in the city.

Libya's Ambulance and Emergency Service had earlier put the death toll from the floods in Derna at 2,300 people and 5,000 others missing.

Thousands missing

The International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] said early on Tuesday that more than 10,000 people have been reported missing following the devastating floods in Libya.

Initial reports indicate that dozens of villages and towns were submerged by the deadly floods caused by Storm Daniel that struck eastern Libya on Sunday.

Local authorities in Derna said two dams have collapsed in the city, adding to the deadly floods.

"The network of roads and bridges in Derna has totally collapsed," Al Hussein Sweidan, head of the roads and bridges department in the Tripoli-based Libyan government, told Anadolu Agency.

He estimated the cost of rebuilding the damaged roads and bridges in the city at around $67 million.

On Monday, Libya's Presidency Council appealed to friendly countries and international aid groups to provide aid to the flood-stricken areas in the eastern region.

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Source: TRT