Libya Storm The Libyan government has declared the city of Derna a disaster zone, as flooding from Mediterranean Storm Daniel threatens to kill up to 150 people.
The storm reached the Libyan coast over the weekend and intensified overnight, leaving a trail of flooding and damage as Egypt braced for the storm to hit the west of the country. There are fears that up to 50 people have died in Derna, Libyan media reported on Monday. At least seven members of the Libyan National Army are missing, spokesman Ahmad Mesmari announced on Monday. However, an official from Libya Banca government said the number of deaths can be much higher.
“Because floods and heavy rain are in derna, Jabal Al Akhdar, and the floods and heavy rain caused by the outskirts of Al Marj, at least 150 people were killed,” government spokesman Mohamed Massour told AFP. The sentiment was echoed by the Benghazi Red Crescent Society, whose director Kais Fhakeri told Reuters on Monday that the death toll could rise to 250.
In a telephone interview with Al Masar TV channel on Monday evening, Osama Hamad, the prime minister of the Libyan government, claimed in Tripoli that more than 2,000 people had been killed in the devastation and thousands more were missing. The city council then announced that water levels in the city had risen to three meters (10 feet) after two dams collapsed.
The city council then announced that water levels in the city had risen to three meters (10 feet) after two dams collapsed. The flow has not stopped,” Ali told Al Jazeera in Istanbul, where he currently lives. “It has invaded the streets of the city and destroyed buildings. When the sun came up [Monday morning], many streets in the city were destroyed. “
“Residents saw bodies floating in the water… it was so sad and they felt there was nothing they could do,” he added. Ali called on the international community to help the victims. “They need equipment that the Libyan authorities cannot provide, such as helicopters,” he explained. Videos posted on social media show people trapped in heavy flooding as Storm Daniel hits car roofs in Benghazi, Susa, Baidu and Almay. and then.
“We were sleeping and woke up to find the house surrounded by water. We were inside and trying to get out,” Ahmed Mohammed, a resident of Derna, told Reuters by phone on Monday.
At least one man who was trapped in his car during the flooding has been confirmed dead as a result of the storm. Some houses were also destroyed in several districts in eastern Libya.
Walid Al Arfi, a spokesman for the government’s emergency response team, identified the man as Othman Abu Khuwaydim Al Darsi and said he died on Sunday in the Bath region east of Almaji city. Tripoli’s interim head of government, Abdul Hamid Debeba, said on Sunday that he had ordered all government institutions to “deal immediately” with the damage and flooding in the eastern city.
The reason for the large discrepancy in loss estimates is not clear. The Libyan Red Crescent said a staff member lost contact with the organization while trying to help a family trapped in Albaida.
A representative of Libya’s presidential council announced a three-day mourning period on Monday afternoon. The UAE and Qatar have expressed their condolences.
In a statement on Monday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its heartfelt sympathy and condolences “to the Libyan state and its people, as well as to the families of the victims of this tragedy and hoped for a speedy resolution” to allow the recovery of all those injured. Catheter Emir, Sheikh Tamim, reported on Monday that his government reported on Monday that his government reported on Monday that his government reported on Monday.
Tunisian President Kais Said also financially led and volunteered was sent to Libya. Egypt’s meteorological authority said in a statement that the storm arrived in Egypt’s west coast province of Matruha on Monday afternoon, where thick fog “obscured the sea” and caused moderate rain and extremely poor visibility in some areas.
Egypt’s meteorological authority warned citizens on Sunday that Storm Daniela will arrive in the country on Monday, bringing rain and unsettled weather to the west of the country. Authorities confirmed the storm will also affect areas as far away as Cairo on Tuesday or Wednesday, although to a much lesser extent than the west and coast of the country.
“These conditions will affect western parts of Egypt, including Saloum, Matrouh Port and Siwa. Light to moderate rain is expected to spread over parts of Alexandria by evening,” the agency said.
“Light to moderate rain will gradually move inland, affecting parts of the southern delta, canal cities and possibly Cairo.”
Thick fog also descended over the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria, nearly 300km from Matruh and just over 600,000km from Egypt’s border with Libya, a resident told The National. The resident said light rain also started falling regularly in Alexandria.
The United Nations in Libya said it is monitoring the storm closely and will “provide emergency assistance to support the response at local and national levels.” Libyan authorities closed four major oil ports, including Raslanuf, Suetin, Brega and Essidr, for three days on Saturday night as a precaution.
It mourned the dead and said it was “ready to support the efforts of local authorities and municipalities to respond to this emergency and provide humanitarian assistance.” Libya was sitting on the most known oil reserves in Africa. Following the crash, NATO supports in 2011 and killing former dictator Moamera Kadhafi, he fell into chaos.
Two hostile governments, whose headquarters are in the West and East, are competing for power, and mortal conflicts occasionally stand out. He also expressed his condolences to the French Ambassador to Mostafa Mihraje and expressed his “unity with the Libyan people” in the X report.
In the neighboring Egypt, the authorities gently called the east coast of Libya in the east and announced that they were starting to prepare to reduce the impact of Daniel Storm. Forecasters are predicting more rain in the coming days.
As the world warms, there is more water vapor in the atmosphere, increasing the risk of heavy rainfall in some parts of the world. Combined with other factors such as urbanization and land use planning, these more intense rainfall events can lead to flooding.
Libya’s state-owned National Oil Company declared a state of highest alert ahead of the storm. “You are requested to monitor port and shipping movement and take measures to maintain the highest levels of security (..) and take measures to protect industrial units, production lines and storage units,” the NOC said in a message to its affiliates.
Libyans began sharing the video on social media, calling for help from the authorities and saying they were facing challenges after rainwater flooded their homes and neighborhoods. On Saturday, the Libyan Eastern Authorities declared an emergency, which included suspension courses in all public and private educational institutions, stores closure and evening calls.
Last week, a storm Daniel pummed in Greece in the end of the three -day hottest summer in the record, leaving a fresh ruin trail after deadly fires. Greek rescue teams found four more bodies in the country’s central region on Sunday, bringing the death toll in the country’s heaviest downpours since records began in 1930 to 15.
