September 14, 2023
Domestic and international aid has started arriving to eastern Libya, the area devastated by Storm Daniel. This includes specialist emergency first responders. Planes carrying aid have landed in Libya, including from Egypt, Turkey and Algeria. The Tripoli Libyan government said Wednesday aid has arrived from France, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Malta, Qatar, Spain, and the UAE.
Tripoli government has asked the UN to coordinate the international aid effort
The Tripoli-based Libyan government reported that emergency flights sent by many countries to Libya has reached 23 flights in less than 24 hours. It revealed that it has requested United Nations assistance to coordinate the work of international teams, and that these teams will arrive Thursday. The government stressed that it is studying requests for assistance submitted by many countries according to Libya’s actual needs.
What type of aid has arrived?
The Libyan government reported that the international aid consisted of: Lifesaving and body recovery teams, dog handlers and their dogs, medical teams and field hospitals, heat detecting equipment, divers and water pumping teams, emergency and lifesaving equipment, boats and search airplanes / drones.
Spain
The Spanish Embassy in Tripoli informed Libya Herald Wednesday that the Libyan Embassy in Spain coordinated the deployment of Spanish NGOs to Derna. A plane arrived in Benghazi Wednesday morning with 18 firefighters from the NGOs “Acción Norte” from Vitoria and “Bombers Pel Món” from Valencia with 6 rescue dogs.
A team of e technicians of the Spanish Company Falcon High Tech with technical material and drones specialized in body recovery were also on the plane.
A second flight should leave Madrid Wednesday afternoon with another group from the same NGOs and also firefighters from Ferrol and the IAE group from Valencia including specialists in water rescue and 5 dogs coming from different parts of Spain trained for recovery.
Meanwhile, the Libyan Embassy in Madrid reported that the Director of the Emergency Medicine and Support Center (EMSC), Tripoli Branch, Mohamed Kablan, confirmed to the Tripoli government media site that the Spanish team will work, in addition to its tasks in the eastern region, to train the EMSC’s teams on rapid response, rescue and recovery operations, and dealing with advanced search equipment.
The EMSC will also be provided with sensing and imaging equipment to help it deal with what the difficulties the affected areas are experiencing difficulties in searching for and rescuing missing persons.
Italy
The Italian embassy in Tripoli confirmed to Libya Herald that Italy had sent two Air Force C-130J aircraft and the naval ship San Giorgio to Libya.
Two Air Force C-130J aircraft departed Wednesday on three flights to Libya, carrying fire brigade personnel, risk experts, boats with support equipment and logistical materials.
The planes are expected to land at Al-Abraq Airport, near Shahat, which is the only active airport near the area affected by the floods.
The naval ship San Giorgio has already departed and will arrive in the Derna area within the next 24 hours to secure logistical, command and control tasks, as well as provide medical support to the national deployment device scheduled to support the residents of the flooded areas.
An Italian technical team composed of personnel from Civil Protection, the Fire Brigade, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already been present at the flood site since Tuesday to assess the situation in the area.
Malta
The Maltese embassy confirmed to Libya Herald that the Minister for Home Affairs and Security announced the deployment of a contingent of 73 persons that includes 31 members from the Department of Civil Protection and 12 Members of the Armed Forces of Malta to assist Libya with Search and Rescue in the area which has been devastated with flooding. ‘‘Malta stands in solidarity with the Libyan people to save lives and assist those suffering from this tragedy’’, the embassy said.
Qatar
The chairman of the Libyan-Qatari Friendship Committee in the House of Representatives, Issa Al-Araibi, was quoted by Libyan media saying that a group of Qatari aid arrived at dawn Wednesday at Benghazi’s Benina Airport. He said this comes as part of the air bridge between Qatar and Libya, adding that 16 planes will arrive successively to provide relief to those afflicted in Derna and the eastern cities.
Kuwait
The Libyan Red Cross reported Wednesday that aircraft had arrived from Kuwait carrying
40 tons of relief and medical equipment, materials, and rescue boats.
USA
US Special Envoy to Libya, Richard Norland said that the United States stands with the Libyan people at this difficult time. The current level of US contributions to flood relief is US$ 1 million. In consultation with our USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team, we will continue to work with Libyan authorities and the UN to provide additional support.
UN to raise US$ 20 million for the aid effort
Meanwhile, The UN Relief Chief, Martin Griffiths, announced Wednesday that he is allocating US $10 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (UNCERF) for libya. He said ‘‘Storm Daniel has claimed thousands of lives, causing widespread damage and wiping out livelihoods in eastern Libya. I am allocating 4 10 million to swiftly support people affected by the floods. We stand with the people of Libya at this difficult time’’.
More than 5,300 dead and 10,000 missing in Derna disaster (libyaherald.com)
More than 2,000 dead and thousands missing after Storm Daniel hit eastern Libya (libyaherald.com)
Libya hit by storm Daniel with eastern region suffering worse damage (libyaherald.com)
