(Derna) The Libyan town of Derna continues to count its dead on Thursday after devastating floods which swept away entire neighborhoods and left thousands dead.
The European Commission announced the sending of aid from Germany, Romania and Finland to this coastal city in eastern Libya, where the situation is dramatic.
The European Union (EU) released an initial envelope of 500,000 euros (C$727,000) and the United Kingdom announced initial aid of 1.16 million euros (C$1.7 million) for meet the most urgent needs of Libyans.
PHOTO ESAM OMRAN AL-FETORI, REUTERS
Egyptian rescuers take part in rescue operations in Derna.
In Derna, hit by the storm Daniel On Sunday, buildings were devastated, bridges washed away, entire neighborhoods submerged and roads disappeared, leaving a city unrecognizable.
The death toll continues to rise. Bodies wrapped in blankets still litter its streets and others are piled into vans en route to cemeteries.
Since Tuesday, corpses have been washed up by a Mediterranean Sea, which has become as brown as mud.
According to a latest report from the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior of the Eastern government, Lieutenant Tarek al-Kharraz, 3,840 deaths have been recorded in the city at this stage, of which 3,190 were already buried on Tuesday.
At least 400 foreigners, mainly Sudanese and Egyptians, are among the victims.
Some 250 bodies were found on Wednesday, while more than 2,400 people are still missing, according to him.
The authorities fear that the final toll will be much heavier.
An official from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported an “enormous” number of deaths which could be counted in the thousands, with 10,000 missing.
“Worst natural disaster”
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 30,000 people who lived in this city of 100,000 inhabitants have been displaced.
MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES SATELLITE PHOTOS BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
This combination of satellite photos shows a district of Derna before after the storm.
Derna is now only accessible via two entrances to the south (of the usual seven), and widespread power outages and disruptions to the telecommunications network are limiting communications there, according to the IOM.
Some 3,000 people were also displaced in al-Bayda and more than 2,000 in Benghazi, towns further west.
This is the worst natural disaster affecting Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya, since the great earthquake which struck the town of al-Marj (east) in 1963.
“Risks”
In the country and abroad, there is strong mobilization to help the victims.
Jordan sent a humanitarian aid plane and Italy announced the departure of a ship and two military transport planes to transport experts and logistical equipment.
A French plane carrying around forty rescuers and several tons of medical equipment, including a field hospital, was also chartered.
PHOTO CHRISTOPHE SIMON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
An Airbus A400M-180 from the French Air Force is preparing to take off to provide assistance to the Libyans affected by the disaster.
Egypt, for its part, will set up camps in the west of the country to shelter flood survivors.
An official from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Erik Tollefsen, warned of the danger linked to unexploded ordnance which had been moved to “areas previously free of contamination” by floods.
This places “more risks for survivors and those responsible for humanitarian aid”, he warned.
In Libya, plunged into chaos since the death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two authorities are vying for power, one in the east, ravaged by the storm Danieland the other in the West, internationally recognized.