The Head of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Hayder Al-Sayeh, has called for dividing Derna city into three districts: the first (Damaged Distract), the second (Fragile District) and the third (Safe District).
Al-Sayeh also called, in an interview over the phone with Libya Alahrar TV, for evacuating the (Damaged District) in Derna from all people who would not be participating in officially-approved relief efforts, reiterating that crowdedness in the area had been impeding search and rescue operations.
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.
He also said that the (Fragile District) in dErna should also be evacuated because of pollution and bacterial infections that led to the contamination of running water, yet adding that the Center hadn’t yet received any reports of virus outbreaks in the city but it would kick-start a vaccination campaign for children anyway soon.
The Center registered 55 cases of poisoning among surviving children in Derna due to the contamination of water and the lack of a quick and constant aids’ delivery to the survivors.
