A group of Derna University teaching staff members has called for immediate provision of aids and necessary items for recovering the bodies from under the rubble in certain neighborhoods in the city.
The staff members made a distress call for five boats – at least 12 meters each – 45 personal protection vests for nine areas, in addition to tools needed for recovering bodies, and body bags.
They also said that the city was still in phase one of the recovery from the disaster, which entailed recovering bodies and registering the number of deaths caused by Storm Daniel and the ensuing floods that were caused by a mixture of heavy rainfall and the pressure of the two ruptured dams in the city.
“Some bodies are stuck in the valleys among the rocks and cannot be reached.” The staff members said, adding that strong winds pushed many bodies to hard-to-reach areas as well as to the beach.
Storm Daniel hit eastern coastal cities, especially Derna, Al-Bayda and Al-Marj, on Saturday. Two dams collapsed in Derna valley, washing away entire neighborhoods and killing entire families. The flood torrent obliterated around a quarter or the Mediterranean city of Derna.
The mayor of Derna, Abdelmonem Al-Ghaithi, told Libya Alahrar TV that the number of deaths could reach as high as 18,000 to 20,000 based on the destroyed buildings and houses in the ravaged city. However, other estimates, especially the statement of the Health Minister of the east-based government, Othman Abduljalil, said the official records in eastern Libya had registered 3,166 deaths up until September 15.
