World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Libya, Ahmed Zouiten, has said the situation in Derna is disastrous as residents are in dire need for health and psychological care following the floods in the aftermath of Storm Daniel.
Zouiten added to Libya Alahrar TV channel that about 800,000 people were in need of healthcare in all disaster areas, saying that two planes with medicines on board arrived in Benghazi.
“The medical items have been distributed to medical centers, as 63% of hospitals in disaster areas are out of service.” Zouiten said.
Storm Daniel and ensuing floods hit eastern coastal cities, especially Derna, Al-Bayda and Al-Marj, on September 10 and 11. Two dams collapsed in Derna valley – an area locally known as Wadi Derna -, washing away entire neighborhoods and killing a number of entire families. The flood torrent obliterated around a quarter or the Mediterranean city of Derna, leaving thousands dead and missing.
The spokesman for the High Committee for Emergency and Rapid Response of the government designated by the House of Representatives (HoR), Mohammed El Jarih, announced on September 24 that 3,868 people had been officially registered as deaths caused by floods, saying in a press conference that this number would likely increase.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday that its latest Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) had registered around 40,018 individuals who remained displaced after Storm Daniel made landfall in northeastern Libya on 11 September 2023 with some households reportedly moving back home.
