DERNA, Libya (AP) — Libyan authorities on Friday limited access to the flooded city of Derna to make it easier for searchers to dig through the mud and excavated buildings in search of the more than 10,000 people still missing and presumed dead. . after a disaster which has already claimed more than 11,000 lives.
The staggering death toll could rise further due to the spread of waterborne diseases and the transfer of explosive devices that were washed up when two dams collapsed early Monday morning and sent a wall of water gushing through the city, officials warned.
The disaster has brought a rare unity to oil-rich Libya, which later years of war and civil conflict It is divided between rival governments in the east and west of the country that are backed by various militias and international sponsors. But opposing governments have struggled to respond to the crisis, and recovery efforts have been hampered by confusion, difficulty getting aid to the hardest-hit areas and the destruction of Derna’s infrastructure, including several bridges.
Aid groups called on the government to provide them with easier access to the city so they could distribute much-needed food, clean water and medical supplies to survivors. Four days into the crisis, the lack of central oversight in Derna was evident: people were receiving supplies and resources in some parts of the city, but left to their own devices in others.
Teams have buried bodies in mass graves outside the city and in nearby villages, eastern Libya’s Health Minister Othman Abduljaleel said.
But officials are concerned that thousands more have not yet been found.
Bodies “are strewn across the streets, washed ashore and buried under collapsed buildings and debris,” said Bilal Sablouh, regional forensic director for Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“In just two hours, one of my colleagues counted more than 200 bodies on the beach near Derna,” he said.
Divers are also searching the waters of the Mediterranean coastal city.
Adel Ayad, who survived the flood, recalled watching the waters rise to the fourth floor of his building.
“The waves swept people from the tops of buildings and we could see people being swept away by the flood water,” he said. Among them were neighbors.
Salam al-Fergany, director general of the Ambulance and Emergency Service in eastern Libya, said late Thursday that residents would be evacuated from Derna and only search and rescue teams would be allowed to enter. But on Friday there were no signs of such an evacuation.
Health officials warned that stagnant water opened the door to disease, but said there was no need to rush burials or bury the dead in mass graves, as the bodies generally do not pose a risk in such cases.
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“You have a lot of standing water. It doesn’t mean that dead bodies pose a risk, but it does mean that the water itself is contaminated by everything,” Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organization, told reporters in Geneva. “So you have to really focus on ensuring that people have access to clean water.”
Imene Trabelsi, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, warned that another danger lurked in the mud: landmines and other explosives left behind by the country’s prolonged conflict.
There are traces of explosives in Libya dating back to World War II, but most come from the civil conflict that began in 2011. Between 2011 and 2021, some 3,457 people were killed or injured by landmines or other leftover explosive devices in Libya, according to the International Landmine and Cluster Munitions Monitor.
Even before the floods, Trabelsi said the ability to detect and remove mines from the areas was limited. After the floods, he said, explosive devices may have been washed into “new, undetected areas” where they could pose an immediate threat to search teams and a longer-term threat to civilians.
According to the Libyan Red Crescent, there had been 11,300 deaths from flooding in Derna as of Thursday. Another 10,100 people were reported missing, although there was little hope that many of them would be found alive, the aid group said. The storm also killed about 170 people in other parts of the country.
Libyan media reported that dozens of Sudanese migrants died in the disaster. The country has become a major transit point for African and Middle Eastern migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in search of a better life in Europe.
Floods often occur in Libya during the rainy season, but rarely with so much destruction. Scientists said the storm had some of the hallmarks of climate change and that extremely warm sea water could have given the storm more energy and allowed him to move more slowly.
Authorities have said Libya’s political chaos also contributed to the loss of life. Derna resident Khalifa Othman said he blamed the authorities for the magnitude of the disaster.
“My son, a doctor who graduated this year, my nephew and his entire family, my grandson, my daughter and her husband are missing and we are still searching for them,” Othman said. “All the people are upset and angry; there was no preparation.”
Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, Jack Jeffery in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.
