Libya floods: More Than 5,000 People Dead
UN

Libya floods: UN providing aid as disaster response team deploys
UN agencies and partners are responding to the disaster unfolding in eastern Libya after extreme rainfall caused devastating flooding and loss of life over the weekend, humanitarians told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, 12-09-2023.
Latest figures as of Tuesday night, suggest there could be more than 5,000 people dead and around 10,000 have been reported missing in the massive floods triggered by Hurricane Daniel, which overwhelmed the eastern parts of the country at the weekend, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.
We stand in solidarity with Libya: Guterres
In a statement released by his Spokesperson, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his heartfelt condolences to the Libyan authorities and the families of those who have perished,
“At this time, our thoughts are with the thousands of people being affected there in their communities, we stand in solidarity with all people in Libya during this difficult time”, said Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing reporters in New York.
He said the UN team on the ground is responding at the site.
“Furthermore, we are mobilizing resources and emergency teams to support those affected people and are working with local, national, and international partners to get urgently needed humanitarian assistance to people in the affected areas.”
The UN is working with Libyan authorities to assess needs and support ongoing relief efforts, he added.
Libya is in effect under the control of two rival administrations, the internationally recognized Government in Tripoli, and authorities based along with the parliament in the east.
Neighbourhoods swept away
According to the UN weather agency WMO, two dams burst during heavy storms over the weekend, sweeping entire neighbourhoods in the city of Derna into the sea.
The floodwaters reached a peak in northeastern Libya on Sunday, with strong winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour, interrupting communications and bringing down electricity towers and trees.
Torrential rains caused flash flooding in several cities.
“The humanitarian needs are huge and much more beyond the abilities of the Libyan Red Crescent, and even beyond the abilities of the Government”, stressed Tamar Ramadan, head of the IFRC delegation in Libya, who was speaking from Tunis via videoconference.
“That’s why the Government in the east has issued an international appeal for support.”
Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said the flooding was of “epic proportions”.
“There’s not been a storm like this in the region in living memory, so it’s a great shock,” she said.

Prepositioned aid
Dr. Harris added that WHO has deployed prepositioned aid supplies to the affected areas. She estimated that torrential rain affected up to 1.8 million people and damaged and even “wiped out” some hospitals.
“The work now is really to get in supplies, sadly some of those supplies are things like body bags, but also trauma kits,” the WHO spokesperson said.
The Libyan Government has announced three days of mourning in all the affected cities, calling them ″disaster areas.″ Emergency responders, government workers and residents were digging through rubble to look for survivors.
“Our second priority is to look at the people who are displaced”, WHO’s Dr Harris said.
Already vulnerable
“There are lots of people who are already living in precarious circumstances. And we have to look at what kind of field hospitals can be set up, and what kind of mobile clinics. So there’s a great deal of work that needs to be done and is being mobilized as I speak.”
Libya has become a key springboard for migrants from over 40 countries heading for Europe, who most likely have also been severely impacted by the floods, the UN migration agency (IOM) warned.
“There are roughly 600,000 migrants in Libya at this time and we are conscious that in some of the affected areas there are migrant populations but at this early stage and [given] the many access issues that we and humanitarian responders are facing, we don’t have a clear picture about how badly they have been affected”, said IOM spokesperson Paul Dillon.
The UN system is providing aid to areas in eastern Libya impacted by the weekend floods and a disaster assessment team has been deployed to support government response and relief operations, the UN said on Wednesday, 13-09-2023.
.More than 5,000 people have reportedly died, many of them residents of Derna, which was struck by a torrent of water from two dams which burst, sweeping away whole neighbourhoods of the port city.
“Search and rescue operations are actively underway, led by national agencies, military, the Libyan Red Crescent and local volunteers”, said a statement released by the UN Spokesperson’s Office.

Supporting role
The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Libya, Georgette Gagnon, has tasked an emergency response team to support local authorities and partners.
A team from the Geneva-based UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) operation, part of humanitarian coordination office OCHA, has been deployed to support response and relief operations.
Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, announced on Tuesday an initial allocation of $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support those affected by the floods.
Oil-rich Libya has in effect been split since 2014 between an interim, internationally recognized Government operating from the capital, Tripoli, and another one in the east, with many armed groups also operating on its territory. The two sides signed a ceasefire in 2020, but political rivalries continue.
‘Brutally swept away’
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, issued a statement on Wednesday saying he was profoundly distressed “that thousands of lives have been so brutally swept away in eastern Libya, and so many more people have lost their loved ones, their homes, their communities, and their access to basic needs.”
He called on all Libyan political actors to overcome the deadlock preventing national unity and division, “and to act collectively in ensuring access to relief.”
“This is a time for unity of purpose: all those affected must receive support, without regard for any affiliations. It is important that particular care is taken to ensure protection of groups in vulnerable situations – who are rendered even more at risk in the aftermath of such a disaster.”

Help ‘any way we can’
Speaking to reporters earlier at UN Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres said that the UN was ready to “work in any and every way we can with partners to help get emergency assistance to those who so desperately need it.”
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday it had despatched its first shipment of food assistance to Libya in the wake of the floods which have left more than 10,000 injured or missing.
In coming days, WFP aims to reach more than 5,000 families whose lives were turned upside down when the dams burst after being hammered by Hurricane Daniel over the weekend.
‘Out of control’
“Entire neighborhoods in Derna disappeared, along with their residents, swept away by water after the two aging structures collapsed, creating a catastrophic situation that is out of control”, said WFP.
Derna is the worst-affected city while Albayda, Almarj, Benghazi, Bayada, Al Owailia, Taknes (AlJabal Al Akhdar), Talmeitha, Tobruk, Toukra, Shahhat, and Sousa were also hit.
On Tuesday, WFP commenced its response with cooperating partner LibAid, distributing rations – that include sugar, pasta, rice, wheat flour, tomato paste, white beans and cooking oil – to hundreds of families across 16 locations in the capital of the eastern administration, Benghazi.
More than 2,000 storm-affected and displaced people who fled from Derna to Benghazi have already received food and distributions are ongoing.
WFP already assists more than 52,000 people in with in-kind food and cash grants in Libya, including internally displaced people, returnees, and migrants in urban areas.
13-09-2023 [ Headline Image: © WHO Catastrophic flooding breaks dams and sweeps away buildings and homes in Libya.]
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