Libya Flooding Leaves 10,000 People Missing
2023-09-13
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1Officials in Libya say as many as 10,000 people are missing after severe flooding in the northeastern part of the country.
2The flooding began when Mediterranean Storm Daniel dropped heavy rain on the area beginning Sunday night.
3As of Tuesday, more than 1,000 bodies had been recovered in the city of Derna alone.
4Emergency workers say they expect the number of dead to climb sharply.
5Flooding led to the collapse of at least two dams outside Derna, a coastal city of about 89,000 people, local officials said.
6A wall of water that passed through the city "erased everything in its way," witness Ahmed Abdalla told the Associated Press.
7A local minister of civil air travel in the country's east told Reuters news agency after visiting Derna that bodies were "lying everywhere," including the sea, in valleys and under buildings.
8The minister local officials estimated about 25 percent of Derna had disappeared, with "many, many buildings" destroyed.
9Storm Daniel hit other eastern Libyan towns, including Benghazi, the second largest city in the country.
10Tamer Ramadan is head of a delegation from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
11He told Reuters the number of missing had hit 10,000 and the total number of deaths would be "huge."
12United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, that emergency teams had been deployed to help on the ground.
13Turkey and other countries immediately sent aid to Libya, including search and rescue vehicles, rescue boats, power generators and food.
14People living in Derna reported hearing loud explosions Sunday night as the storm arrived and they realized dams outside the city had collapsed.
15Videos posted online showed large areas of mud and wreckage where floodwaters carried away neighborhoods along banks of the Wadi Derna river.
16The river runs from the mountains through the city and into the sea.
17Local emergency workers - including troops, government workers and volunteers - dug through the wreckage and used boats to search for bodies.
18Eastern Libya's health minister, Othman Abduljaleel, told the AP that many bodies are believed to be trapped under wreckage or had been carried out to the sea.
19Military commander Khalifa Hifter currently leads the east Libya government.
20He captured Derna in 2019 after months of fierce fighting.
21Hifter's government, based in Benghazi, is fighting the western government based in the capital, Tripoli.
22Each side is backed by powerful militias and foreign powers.
23Egypt, Russia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates support Hifter.
24Turkey, Qatar and Italy support the west Libya administration.
25There were early signs the two sides were willing to work together on aid efforts.
26The government of western Libya sent a plane carrying 14 tons of medical supplies and health workers to Benghazi.
27Another plane, carrying humanitarian aid and rescue teams from Egypt, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, also landed in Benghazi.
28I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Officials in Libya say as many as 10,000 people are missing after severe flooding in the northeastern part of the country. 2The flooding began when Mediterranean Storm Daniel dropped heavy rain on the area beginning Sunday night. 3As of Tuesday, more than 1,000 bodies had been recovered in the city of Derna alone. Emergency workers say they expect the number of dead to climb sharply. 4Flooding led to the collapse of at least two dams outside Derna, a coastal city of about 89,000 people, local officials said. A wall of water that passed through the city "erased everything in its way," witness Ahmed Abdalla told the Associated Press. 5A local minister of civil air travel in the country's east told Reuters news agency after visiting Derna that bodies were "lying everywhere," including the sea, in valleys and under buildings. 6The minister local officials estimated about 25 percent of Derna had disappeared, with "many, many buildings" destroyed. 7Storm Daniel hit other eastern Libyan towns, including Benghazi, the second largest city in the country. Tamer Ramadan is head of a delegation from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He told Reuters the number of missing had hit 10,000 and the total number of deaths would be "huge." 8United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, that emergency teams had been deployed to help on the ground. Turkey and other countries immediately sent aid to Libya, including search and rescue vehicles, rescue boats, power generators and food. 9People living in Derna reported hearing loud explosions Sunday night as the storm arrived and they realized dams outside the city had collapsed. 10Videos posted online showed large areas of mud and wreckage where floodwaters carried away neighborhoods along banks of the Wadi Derna river. The river runs from the mountains through the city and into the sea. 11Local emergency workers - including troops, government workers and volunteers - dug through the wreckage and used boats to search for bodies. 12Eastern Libya's health minister, Othman Abduljaleel, told the AP that many bodies are believed to be trapped under wreckage or had been carried out to the sea. 13Military commander Khalifa Hifter currently leads the east Libya government. He captured Derna in 2019 after months of fierce fighting. Hifter's government, based in Benghazi, is fighting the western government based in the capital, Tripoli. 14Each side is backed by powerful militias and foreign powers. Egypt, Russia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates support Hifter. Turkey, Qatar and Italy support the west Libya administration. 15There were early signs the two sides were willing to work together on aid efforts. The government of western Libya sent a plane carrying 14 tons of medical supplies and health workers to Benghazi. Another plane, carrying humanitarian aid and rescue teams from Egypt, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, also landed in Benghazi. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 18_____________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20erase - v. to completely remove something