The United Nations has said that the two competing governments in Libya are working together to organize help for people affected by floods.
Over 5,300 people lost their lives when two dams broke, causing extremely destructive floods in the eastern city of Derna.
The mayor of Derna, Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi, said that the number of people affected could be as high as 20,000, because a large part of the city was destroyed.
Another person from the government in Tobruk said that many bodies are always being thrown into the sea.
MrGhaithi said that around 18,000 to 20,000 people could die in the city. This estimation is based on the number of buildings destroyed by the flood in different areas of the city.
We need teams who are experts in finding and bringing back dead bodies.
Over 10,000 people are currently lost and many more have been forced to leave their homes.
Hichem Abu Chkiouat, a government official in charge of aviation in eastern Libya, said to Reuters that the number of people who died could go up by a lot because the sea keeps bringing more dead bodies.
Guma El-Gamaty, a Libyan academic and head of the Taghyeer Party, explained that there is concern that the number of casualties from the incident could be even higher. This is because there are many people who have not been found or reached out to their families. Their phones are not working, so it’s unclear if they are trapped under the debris, if they have died, or if they are in the ocean.
Officials have requested additional assistance from other countries.
A person who works for the UN said that both the governments in the east and west asked for help from other countries and were talking with each other.
Tauhid Pasha, from the International Organisation for Migration, said that both governments asked the international community for help and services.
“The Western government called the Government of National Unity is helping us and speaking on behalf of the whole country. They are also working together with the government in the east,” he said.
“The current challenge is for the international community to respond appropriately to the needs and requests of governments,” he said.
MrPasha stated that we need to increase support for the city very quickly and we need money to do so. The city originally had about 90,000 people before the flood.
After the overthrow of the long-time leader Col Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the Libyan state started to break apart.
It broke into two rival groups that are both in charge of different parts of Libya, one in the west called Tripoli and one in the east called Tobruk.
The country is still stuck in a fight between many groups of armed people.
Abdul Hamid Dbeibah is the leader of the government in Tripoli that is supported by the United Nations.
Osama Hamad is the leader of the rival House of Representatives in the eastern region.
But, lots of people believe that the true person in charge is Gen Khalifa Haftar, who is the leader of the Libyan National Army.
Gen Haftar met with a group of soldiers from Egypt to give help and assistance after a terrible event.
The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Volker Turk, emphasized that after the floods, it was important for all political groups to join forces and collaborate.
“He said that now is a time when we should all work together towards the same goal. ”
Everyone who is affected should be helped, regardless of any specific group or organization they belong to. It is important to make sure that we take extra care to protect groups of people who are in vulnerable situations and are at even greater risk after a disaster.
Abdulkader Assad, who is the political editor of the Libya Observer, mentioned that having one government that is accepted worldwide in the western part of Libya being challenged by another government in the eastern part has made it difficult for rescue operations to take place.
“We are aware that Libya has been divided by two governments for at least ten years. However, we have not really experienced the consequences of this split because both governments were focused on gaining power and controlling different parts of the country,” he explained.
But now that a few cities are going through this natural disaster, we can observe that the absence of a united centralized government is actually impacting people’s lives.
Libyan teams looking for people who are alive in Derna are getting help from others on the field.
People who look for and save people who are lost or in danger are coming from Egypt and Tunisia.
Over 160 people from Turkey and firefighters from Italy and Spain are coming together.
Tommaso Della Longa, a representative for the president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, stated that there was not much time left to find people who were still alive.
“He said that we are aware that this window will unfortunately close soon, but there is still hope. ”
The Libyan Red Crescent teams who were present at the scene described the disaster as a combination of a bombardment and an earthquake. Happening at the same time means that two or more things are occurring together or in sync.
“What they are telling us is actually stories about whole parts of the city that no longer exist, villages that are completely wrecked, and thousands of families who currently need everything,” Mr. Della Longa included.
Usama Al Husadi, who is 52 years old, has been looking for his wife and five children since the terrible flood occurred.
I walked to find them. He told Reuters news agency that he went to all hospitals and schools but had no success. He was crying with his head in his hands.
“We have lost at least 50 relatives from my father’s family – some are missing and some have died,” he said.
The emigration ministry of Egypt said that the bodies of over 80 Egyptian migrants who died in the flood were brought back to Egypt. They were buried in their hometowns.