Libyans search for families after catastrophic floods

Heavy rains have breached dams above the city and floodwaters have washed away coastal communities in Libya. Many high-rise buildings have collapsed while families slept.

Libyans search for families after death toll could reach 20,000 photo 1 — Libyan people search for relatives in the rubble. Photo: Reuters

Usama Al Husadi, a 52-year-old driver, has been searching for his wife and five children since the disaster. “I have been walking to look for them… I have been to all the hospitals and schools but no luck,” he said. “We have lost at least 50 family members.”

Beaches were littered with clothes, toys, furniture, shoes and other belongings that had been swept away from homes. Streets were flooded with deep mud, strewn with uprooted trees and hundreds of damaged cars, many overturned.

“My wife and I survived but I lost my sister,” said Mohamed Mohsen Bujmila, a 41-year-old engineer. “My sister lived in the city center, where most of the destruction occurred. We found the bodies of her husband and son and buried them.”

Derna was a densely populated city built along the river. Now the city is in ruins.

Death tolls given by officials have varied, but all have been in the thousands. Hichem Abu Chkiouat, the civil aviation minister for Libya's eastern government, said more than 5,300 people have been confirmed dead so far, and said the toll was likely to rise significantly.

Tariq Kharaz, a spokesman for the eastern government, said 3,200 bodies had been found and 1,100 of them were still unidentified.

Derna Mayor Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi told Al Arabiya television that the estimated death toll in the city could be as high as 18,000 to 20,000 based on the number of districts devastated by the floods.

Trung Kien (according to Reuters)

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