Libya. At least 11,300 dead in the city of Derna

SAccording to the general secretary of the non-governmental organization, Marie el-Drese, there are over 10,100 people reported missing in that city.

Thousands of people were buried in mass graves in Derna, authorities said today, as search teams continued to sift through the ruins left by the devastating floods and the mayor said the toll could triple.

The floods, caused by a cyclone and fed by two failing dams, swept away entire families on Sunday night and exposed the vulnerabilities of the oil-rich country that has been mired in conflict since a 2011 uprising toppled the longtime dictator. date, Muammar Gaddafi.

The previous report showed that there were 6,872 deaths in Derna, the city most affected by the floods in Libya.

According to data from the United Nations Emergency Response Fund, there are, in total, 884,000 people in need of assistance due to the floods, of which 250,000 need urgent and immediate help to survive, the UN indicated at its conference of daily press.

The organization has already released ten million dollars from its emergency fund to provide victims of the floods in Libya with essential goods and try to prevent a health crisis that could be caused by the high number of deaths lying in the open, the lack of drinking water or other factors, explained United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths.

Preventing the emergence of an epidemic and “quickly restoring some kind of normality must take precedence over any other concern in these difficult times for Libya”, he declared.

“Entire neighborhoods were wiped off the map. Entire families, taken by surprise, were swept away by the deluge of water. Thousands of people died, tens of thousands were left homeless and many more remain in unknown locations”, recalled the humanitarian official.

[Notícia atualizada às 20h55]

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