Death toll in Libyan flood surpasses 5,300

Death toll from flood emanating from tropical Storm Daniel that swept through several areas in eastern Libya has surpassed 5,300, with an unspecified number still missing, Libya’s Minister of Civil Aviation,
Hichem Abu Chkiouat, said on Wednesday.

The substantial storm, according to emergency services officials, had hit the country on Sunday, causing torrential rain which caused the disaster before sweeping across the eastern provinces on Monday and Tuesday, leaving thousands dead and missing, as well as causing major infrastructure damage.

The worst hit areas, according to the country’s Interior Ministry, were Derna, Benghazi, and Al-Bayda, Sousse and Al-Marj, with whole cities swept away.

A statement by spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior, Tariq Al-Kharaz, said the death toll of Storm Daniel, had reached reached 5,200 people in Derna alone, with 1,300 bodies out of that number buried after the families had identified them, while there were entire families who died.

Read also: 73 migrants feared dead in Libya shipwreck

Al-Kharaz said the number of bodies that had not been identified was massive and couldn’t be buried at present because of the lack of resources and support, expecting the death toll from the floods in Derna to rise to more than 10,000 people.

He added that there were still many unrecovered bodies, as specialized rescue teams from Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt were working to recover the bodies that had been swept into the sea by the torrents.

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