The
death toll from floods in Libya in one city alone stands at more than 1,500, a
minister who visited the eastern port of Derna has told the BBC.
"I was shocked by what
I saw, it's like a tsunami," Hisham Chkiouat, from the eastern-based
government, said.
Much of Derna, which is
home to about 100,000 people, is under water after two dams and four bridges
collapsed.
Up to 10,000 people are
recorded to be missing after the flooding as a result of Storm Daniel, the Red
Crescent says.
The storm, which hit on
Sunday, is also affecting the eastern cities of Benghazi, Soussa, and Al-Marj.
Mr Chkiouat, the aviation
minister and part of the eastern government's emergency response committee,
told BBC Newshour that the collapse of one of the dams to the south of Derna
had dragged large parts of the city into the sea.
"A massive
neighborhood has been destroyed - there is a large number of victims, which is
increasing each hour.
"Currently 1,500 dead.
More than 2,000 are missing. We don't have accurate figures but it's a
calamity," he said, adding that the dam had not been maintained properly
for some time.
He had told the Reuters
news agency earlier that a quarter of the city had disappeared.
Tamer Ramadan, head of the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in
Libya, has told reporters the death toll is likely to be "huge".
Speaking via video link
from neighboring Tunisia, he said: "Our teams on the ground are still
doing their assessment… we don't have a definite number right now. The number
of missing people is hitting 10,000 persons so far."
Alongside areas in the
east, the western city of Misrata was among those hit by the floods.
Libya has been in political
chaos since long-serving ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in
2011 - leaving the oil-rich nation effectively split with an interim,
internationally recognized government operating from the capital, Tripoli, and
another one in the east.
According to Libyan
journalist Abdulkader Assad, this is hampering rescue efforts as the various
authorities are not able to respond with agility to a natural disaster.
"There are no rescue
teams, there are no trained rescuers in Libya. Everything over the last 12
years was about war," he told the BBC.
"There are two
governments in Libya... and that is actually slowing down the help that is
coming to Libya because it's a little bit confusing. You have people who are
pledging help but the help is not coming."
Mr Chkiouat said aid was on
its way and the eastern administration would accept help from the government in
Tripoli, which has sent a plane with 14 tonnes of medical supplies, body bags, and more than 80 doctors and paramedics.
The US special envoy to
Libya, Richard Norton, has said that Washington is to send aid to eastern Libya
in coordination with UN partners and the Libyan authorities.
Egypt, Germany, Iran,
Italy, Qatar, and Turkey are among the countries that have said they have sent
or are ready to send aid.
Derna, about 250km (150
miles) east of Benghazi along the coast, is surrounded by the nearby hills of
the fertile Jabal Akhdar region.
The city was once where
militants from the Islamic State group built a presence in Libya, after
Gaddafi's fall. They were driven out some years later by the Libyan National
Army (LNA), forces loyal to Gen Khalifa Haftar who is allied to the eastern
administration.
The powerful general has
said eastern officials are currently assessing the damage caused by the floods so
roads can be reconstructed and electricity restored to help rescue efforts.
"All official bodies,
especially Libya's central bank, should provide the urgent financial support
needed so those executing can do their work and go ahead with
reconstruction," Reuters quotes him as saying in a TV address.
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