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Libya’s Attorney General / Public Prosecutor, Sideeg Al-Sour, announced Friday the launch of investigations into the collapse of Derna’s two dams. The collapse of the city’s two dams is thought to be the main cause of the massive destruction and loss of life experienced by the city after it was struck by Storm Daniel last weekend.
The UN’s World Health Organisation (WHO) said more than 9,000 people are still missing. It said that its teams are working with the Libyan Ministry of Health to track the dead and missing. Thus far, the bodies of 3,958 people have been recovered and identified, and death certificates have been issued. This number is projected to increase as more bodies are recovered by search and rescue teams.
The Attorney General said his investigation will see whether the failure of the dams was contributed to by corruption or negligence.
He said these charges cannot be proven except after the end of the investigations that will determine the facts, stressing that whoever is found guilty will be tried and there will be no impunity.
Al-Sour he was increasing the number of members of the Public Prosecution to complete investigations as quickly as possible.
He stressed that the investigations will show whether the two dams, which were originally designed to protect the city from floods and not to retain rainwater, were unsuitable, which led to their collapse or any other reasons.
Africa’s deadliest storm in history
Meanwhile, a report by Yale University’s Climate Connections said Storm Daniel was Africa’s deadliest storm in recorded history.
It said Storm Daniel’s preliminary death toll in Libya surpasses the 1927 floods in Algeria (3,000 killed) as the deadliest storm in Africa since 1900, according to statistics from EM-DAT, the international disaster database.
Storm Daniel is also the deadliest storm globally since at least 2013 when Super Typhoon Haiyan killed 7,354 people in the Philippines.
Aid continues to arrive
on a positive note, humanitarian and rescue aid continued to arrive in Libya by air and ship. Planes arrived from Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Romania. Some states, such as Algeria, Kuwait, UAE, and Turkey continue to send multiple flights carrying aid. Ships carrying aid have arrived in Libya from Italy, Egypt, and Turkey. Turkey will be sending three ships of aid, according to its Foreign Ministry.
Libyan Railways revealed today that it delivery aid to eastern Libya on Friday, including a contribution from the Russian Railways Company, which had a contract to implement the stalled Sirte-Benghazi rail line project.
‘‘Never seen a disaster like Derna disaster in over 40 years of rescue work’’.
Derna was hit by a tsunami
The head of the Algerian rescue team in Derna, Colonel Farouk Ashour, told the official Libyan state news agency LANA yesterday, he had never seen a disaster like the Derna disaster during his work in rescue for more than 40 years.
“I participated in a huge number of search and rescue operations in Algeria and the world, the last of which was in Turkey, but I have never seen like this disaster.”
The Algerian expert described the situation in Derna as a “tsunami,” saying: “A third of the city disappears, half of it in the sea… This is a tsunami.”
Ashour stated that the team members recovered more than 30 bodies from the rubble of homes damaged by the flood and did not find any survivors of the disaster in the area in which they were searching.
‘‘This is a tsunami’’.
A second plane full of aid from the WHO Global Logistics Hub in Dubai, also arrived Saturday. WHO reported enough supplies to reach almost 250,000 people with health aid. It said the shipment reflects an intensified emergency response to the unprecedented flooding in eastern Libya in the aftermath of Storm Daniel.
The supplies include essential medicines, trauma and emergency surgery supplies, and medical equipment. There are also body bags for the safe and dignified movement and burial of the deceased.
“This is a disaster of epic proportions,” said Dr Ahmed Zouiten, WHO Representative in Libya. “We are saddened by the unspeakable loss of thousands of souls. Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones, as well as with all of the affected communities. We are committed to providing the necessary support to restore health services for the affected population in eastern Libya.”
WHO said the shipment will help replenish supplies in more than half of the health facilities in the affected areas, most of which are not functioning due to shortages of medicines and medical equipment. The supplies will be given to hospitals and primary health care centres and will be crucial in restoring their functionality.
WHO is working closely with Libya’s Ministry of Health and the National Centre for Disease Control to identify and address the health needs of survivors and affected populations in temporary settlements and camps for displaced people.
While this assessment continues, WHO said the current priorities are to restore functionality in hospitals and health centres, and to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases.
Reinforcing disease surveillance and infectious disease control will be vital, WHO said, especially for the estimated 35,000 who have been displaced by the crisis. WHO will also work with local health authorities to provide overall coordination of the emergency health response.
Spraying, sterilization and disinfection continues inside Derna
The General Services Company Tripoli, in cooperation with the General Company for Cleaning Services Misrata and the General Services Company Benghazi, said today that it is continuing spraying, sterilization and disinfection work inside Derna.
The company sprayed and sterilized the Derna port, Darnis Club Street, and the side streets, all the way to the sea road.
The company said it has also been able to pump about 2,450,000 litters of water from the streets and neighbourhoods of Derna since the start of its work in the afflicted city. It has also completely opened the paths of Darnis Club Street and secondary streets and completed the cleaning work of Al-Sahaba Mosque.
The company confirmed that the number of waste transportation trips it conducted until Saturday amounted to about 370 trips.
Latest UN satellite imagery shows extent of Storm Daniel destruction in Derna (libyaherald.com)
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)
