More than 5,000 dead in Libya floods, but far higher toll feared

The death toll is expected to go up in the upcoming days. The flooding comes days after a drastic earthquake last week in Morocco, another North African country, which killed 2,800 people. 

Mediterranean storm Daniel caused devastating floods in Libya that broke dams and swept away entire neighborhoods in multiple coastal towns.

Following the torrential rains and the collapse of two dams, more than 5,000 people are suspected to be dead in Libya, reported the government on Wednesday, as per the New York Times.

On Monday night, Libya, a North African Country, faced one of the biggest floods in the history of Africa. While addressing the media in Geneve, Tamer Ramadan, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in Libya said the number of people presumed to be dead is more than 5,000 and 10,000 are reportedly missing.

According to the official reports, of those who were killed, at least 145 of them were Egyptians. As per the reports by Libyan television station Al-Masar, Tarek Al-Kharraz, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry to the Government stated that in the city of Derna, which has been the worst hit, at least 5,200 people died.

The death toll is expected to go up in the upcoming days. The flooding comes days after a drastic earthquake last week in Morocco, another North African country, which killed 2,800 people.

At least 20,000 people are expected to be displaced by the floods.

The floods were caused by torrential rains from Storm Daniel, which made landfall in Libya on Sunday after earlier lashing Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.

Derna, 250 kilometres (150 miles) east of Benghazi, is ringed by hills and bisected by what is normally a dry riverbed in summer, but which has turned into a raging torrent of mud-brown water that also swept away several major bridges.

More than 700 victims were buried Tuesday — but vastly greater numbers were feared lost in the river that empties into the Mediterranean.

The storm also hit Benghazi and the hill district of Jabal al-Akhdar. Flooding, mudslides and other major damage were reported from the wider region, with images showing overturned cars and trucks.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation, which has its main fields and terminals in eastern Libya, declared “a state of maximum alert” and suspended flights between production sites where it said activity was drastically reduced.

Oil-rich Libya is still recovering from the years of war and chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed popular uprising which toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.