(Benghazi) Floods caused almost two weeks ago in Libya by the storm Daniel left more than 3,800 dead, according to a new report communicated Saturday evening by the eastern Libyan authorities.
The raging floods which devastated the town of Derna, in eastern Libya, left at least 3,845 dead, according to a new provisional toll taken “this afternoon”, announced Mohamed Eljarh, spokesperson for a committee overseeing relief, formed by the Eastern government.
This figure, which only includes, according to him, the bodies buried and recorded by the Ministry of Health, “is expected to increase every day,” he said.
He said the bodies hastily buried by residents in the first days after the disaster remain unaccounted for.
According to him, the authorities are working to identify the victims buried without identification as well as the missing, whose number rises to more than 10,000, according to estimates by the authorities and international humanitarian organizations.
He called on residents to report the missing to two offices set up by the attorney general in Derna.
Meanwhile, searches continue to find bodies under the rubble or at sea. At least nine foreign teams are still participating, according to Mr. Eljarh.
Storm Daniel notably hit Derna, a town of 100,000 inhabitants bordering the Mediterranean, leading to the rupture of two dams upstream and causing a flood of the magnitude of a tsunami washing away everything in its path.
More than 43,000 people have been displaced by the floods, according to the latest statistics from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).