By Ashraf Abdul-Wahab and Farida Waleed
Tripoli, 27 April 2013:
Massive flooding in Murzuk as a result of three days of torrential rains . . .[restrict]has destroyed homes and left at least three people dead. Many other houses have been damaged, dozens of people have been reported to have suffered minor injuries and many more made homeless.
Storms started to hit the southern desert oasis and the surrounding area on Thursday evening. There was rain, hail and even sleet in the region, resulting in floodwaters a metre deep in some places according to Ahmed Barka, an emergency room orderly in Murzuq hospital.
Anyone going visiting in the town, Barka told the Libya Herald said, especially the Humera district, could see many homes that had been almost destroyed by flood waters. Hundred more had cracked walls and ceilings.
The Libyan news agency LANA quoted the head of Murzuk Council, Khalid Khalil, saying that 30 homes in the district had been seriously damaged and 350 others have suffered subsidence as a result of the flooding.
The rains are the heaviest in the region for over 30 years, residents say.
The deputy commander of the security battalion in Murzuk, Hassan Senussi, was reported by the agency saying that no one had expected such a torrent or such damage. People had been forced to leave their homes he said, calling on the government to immediately intervene and provide the homeless with blankets, food and medicines.
The downpours and flooding have also wiped out crops in the area, Barka said. [/restrict]
