How Libya is in dire need of body bags after floods kill more than 5,000

Devastating floods in northeastern Libya have killed and displaced thousands of people. The desperate search of families for their kin continues as many are still missing in the coastal city of Derna. Flooding caused by Mediterranean storm Daniel on Sunday (10 September) night washed away swathes of Derna city. The eastern towns of Benghazi, Sousse and Al-Marj have also been affected by the catastrophic flood, which has killed at least 5,100 people in Derna alone so far. People have started burying the dead in mass graves in the worst-hit city of Derna, while rescue workers are calling for more body bags. Let’s take a closer look at how tragedy has struck Libya. Fear of epidemic Authorities fear that the death toll could rise further because of the number of districts ravaged by the flood. Ossama Ali, a spokesman for an ambulance centre in eastern Libya, said that the number of deaths was expected to mount as at least 9,000 people are still missing. Derna mayor Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television that the number of deaths could reach between 18,000 to 20,000. “We actually need teams specialised in recovering bodies,” al-Ghaithi said, as per Al Jazeera. “I fear that the city will be infected with an epidemic due to the large number of bodies under the rubble and in the water.” Speaking to Al Jazeera, Lutfi al-Misrati, a search team director, said they “need bags for the bodies.” [caption id=“attachment_13123742” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] People look for survivors in Libya’s Derna city on 13 September. AP[/caption] Previously, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, the minister of civil aviation in the administration that runs eastern Libya, said that the “sea is constantly dumping dozens of bodies”, reported The Guardian. “Bodies are everywhere, inside houses, in the streets, at sea. Wherever you go, you find dead men, women, and children,” Emad al-Falah, an aid worker in Derna, told Associated Press (AP). “Entire families were lost.” The United Nations has also raised alarm over risks of disease from the contaminated water, reported BBC. According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, at least 30,000 people in Derna have been displaced due to the disaster, while thousands were forced to leave their homes in other eastern Libyan cities. The casualties in Libya also include dozens of Egyptians and Sudanese migrants. What caused the devastating floods? Torrential downpours triggered by a very strong low-pressure system in the Mediterranean caused the devastation in many eastern Libyan cities, as per CNN. Storm Daniel brought 16 inches of rain to some coastal areas of the country last week over a 24-hour period, which is more than 260 times the monthly average rainfall, reported BBC. German meteorologist Mojib Latif told German public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk that the floods were likely the result of climate change. He said that “very, very hot” temperatures in the Mediterranean had come across cold air from the north, reported _Deutsche Welle (_DW).  Derna, which is located about 300 kilometers east of Benghazi, is home to nearly 100,000 people. Flooding worsened here as two dams outside the city collapsed. Citing local media, AP reported that these dams that collapsed were built in the 1970s and had not been maintained for years. According to Asma Khalifa from the German Institute for Global and Area Studies, the disaster was exacerbated because Derna had “suffered disproportionately” from the civil war in Libya, reported DW.  Khalifa said the situation is more dire for Derna as it was under the control of the Islamic State (IS) terror group in 2013 and 2014. “When the Libyan Arab armed forces tried to liberate it, it was under blockade for two years,” she told DW. “Its infrastructure is weak, even more fragile than in the other cities in the country.” The North African country has been in chaos since an uprising in 2011, backed by NATO, led to the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The country is currently run by two rival governments – an internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) based in Tripoli and the other based in Benghazi in the east. Khalifa also blamed the civil war for the “chaotic response” to the disaster.

The current situation in Libya Rescue workers are looking for survivors amid the wreckage caused by the flood. Many countries including Egypt, Tunisia, Italy, Spain and Turkey have also sent rescue teams to Libya for assistance. However, as flooding cut off many access roads to Derna, it has hampered rescue efforts and the arrival of humanitarian aid in the city, as per AP. ALSO READ: Sky in Morocco lit up by mysterious lights before earthquake: The science explained The United Nations has allocated $10 million for the flood victims, reported DW. The United Kingdom has also announced an aid package. Mabrooka Elmesmary, a journalist who was able to leave Derna on Tuesday, told Al Jazeera that “apartment buildings with families inside have been swept away”. Calling the situation in Derna a “disaster on a massive scale”, she said, “There is no water, no electricity, no petrol”. “There’s a wave of displacement as people are trying to flee Derna but many are stuck because a lot of the roads are blocked or gone,” Elmesmary added. [caption id=“attachment_13123752” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A view of a damaged street in Derna on 12 September. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Tragic tales of families losing dozens of relatives have come to light. Speaking to Reuters, Usama Al Husadi, a 52-year-old driver, said, “We lost at least 50 members from my father’s family, between missing and dead”. He said he has been looking for his wife and five children since the disaster. Mohamed Eljarh, a Libyan journalist travelling to Derna, told The Guardian that rescuers were yet to reach the coastal town of Sousse and the municipality of al-Sahel. “Hundreds of homes are buried under mud, debris and water. No help has arrived,” he said about the situation in Sousse and surrounding villages. “Other areas have been similarly affected. The death toll is going to be staggering.” Meanwhile, the head of the UN’s World Meteorological Organization Petteri Taalas has said that many deaths in Libya could have been avoided if there had been a functional meteorological service in the country able to issue warnings. “Emergency management forces would have been able to carry out the evacuation of the people, and we could have avoided most of the human casualties,” Taalas said, as per AFP news agency. With inputs from agencies