The aftermath of Mediterranean Storm Daniel has plunged Libya into a humanitarian catastrophe, with over 5,000 lives lost and approximately 10,000 individuals still missing as disrupted communication lines leave families anxiously awaiting news of loved ones.
Derna Mayor Abdulmenam Al-Ghaithi speculated on Wednesday that current death toll figures may reach between 18,000 and 20,000 due to the severity of the flooding. "We expect a very large number of deaths, it may reach 18,000 or 20,000," the mayor said on air of the Arabic broadcaster.
About 25% of Derna has been destroyed by floods, Libyan Civil Aviation Minister Hisham Shekiwat told Sputnik on Tuesday, underscoring how "the scale of the destruction is very large."
At the same time, Libya's eastern city of Susah is facing power outages, communication issues and road blockades, the head of the Susah municipal council told Sputnik.
"There is no electricity, the connection is weak or completely absent in some parts of the city, a number of roads are blocked," the official said.
Morgues in Libya remain overwhelmed and hospitals are struggling to treat survivors, with local authorities noting that medical facilities are continuing to treat the injured as efforts are being made to transfer individuals to hospitals not yet filled to capacity.
Rescue teams from Turkiye, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia and France have since arrived in the country, according to officials.
In an address to the prime minister of Libya’s Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed his condolences and offered to provide the flood-hit areas with medicinal products and other aid, Iranian media reported.