Libya dam collapse kills hundreds, thousands missing in storm Daniel floods

Deadly floods swept through northeastern Libya over the weekend, with top officials in the region fearing the toll could exceed 2,000 dead as rescue teams searched for survivors.

The Libyan Red Crescent, a non-profit aid group whose volunteers helped evacuate residents, believes over 300 people have died in the floods in the port city of Derna in eastern Libya.

But around 6,000 are missing because of floods in the city, apparently caused by the collapse of dams above Derna, a spokesperson for the Libyan National Army that controls eastern Libya, said.

Heavy rainfall over the weekend in the country’s northeast swelled waters past riverbanks and officials said the force of the floodwaters swept away hundreds of homes and washed away roads. Stranded residents posted accounts of being trapped inside homes and cars, according to footage on social media.

The drenching rains were part of a weather front that had unleashed major flooding in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria last week, sweeping away buildings and killing more than a dozen people before moving toward Libya.

Entire neighborhoods were swept away by the sea, and entire neighbourhoods disappeared with their inhabitants, with flooding ravaging other areas, including the cities of Bayda and Shahhat, where the rising waters forced more evacuations.

Derna appeared to have suffered the worst, with large parts of the city submerged in water.

“The situation is catastrophic,” the Derna City Council said. “The city of Derna is pleading for help.”

Many of the victims’ bodies in Derna had been scattered through the city by the flooding, with a shortage of rescue capabilities exacerbating the difficulties to get to some of the affected areas.

Libya is divided between an internationally recognized government (GNA) based in Tripoli and a separately administered region in the east, the LNA, led by renegade warlord Khalifa Haftar.

The Government of National Accord in the western part of Libya, in Tripoli, did not put out fatality figures, but its leaders held an emergency meeting on Monday on the crisis and said they had sent ambulances, rescue convoys and doctors to the area. They declared three days of mourning for the victims of the flooding.

Some foreign governments and aid groups offered to help. The U.S. embassy in Libya said they were in close contact with the United Nations and Libyan authorities to quickly bring assistance. The United Arab Emirates also said that it would send urgent relief and rescue teams to Libya.