Libya Floods: Down Communication Lines Make It Hard For Teams To Search For Bodies

The down communication lines in flood-stricken Libya have made it difficult for search and retrieval teams to locate bodies of those who have perished.

Authorities said that the communication outage in the City of Derna affected the work of the teams, which are searching for the bodies. They said that the cut in the power supply was due to the severed fiber-optic cables.

Some engineers have been conducting an investigating to determine whether the outage took place because of digging for the bodies or if it was due to sabotage.

Situation in Libya

Officials noted that as of September 19, there have been 4,006 confirmed deaths due to the massive floods.

Meanwhile, around 10,000 individuals are still unaccounted for.

The City of Derna and its surrounding districts have been considered as the most severely hit areas after the collapse of two dams in the area.

Authorities said that the estimate infrastructure damage was at $19 billion, noting that a total of 2,217 buildings have been affected, including 284 educational and 128 health facilities.

The affected areas in Derna have experienced significant flooding percentages, leading to enforced evacuations and curfews.

Furthermore, essential services, such as electricity and water in the city were compromised.

It was noted that immediate needs include health, food, water, shelter, with vulnerable groups such as children and displaced persons requiring specialized assistance.

On the other hand, despite some supermarkets and bakeries already resuming their operations, food security has remained a major concern.

A vast 99% of households has been facing challenges accessing the daily food due to increased prices, stressing the need for immediate food relief measures.

Moreover, 95% of its population lack regular water and hygiene access while 60% are concerned about water-related risks, prompting the immediate interventions for clean water and hygiene essentials.

Meanwhile, authorities also said that the housing crisis, being felt in Derna, underscores the urgent need to establish temporary shelters in nearby coastal areas.

In other areas such as Albayda, Almarj, and Benghazi, which are already hosting conflict-displaced populations from Tawergha, are now suffering with new displacements due to the massive floods.

Further, relocated populations in the city schools urgently require supplies, including water, food, and medicines.

In Al Mkheley, it can be observed that despite the return of the approximately 200 flood-displaced families, the uninhabitability of their homes accentuates the urgent need for shelter solutions and non-food items (NFIs).

Humanitarian aid

Authorities said that a humanitarian aid has continued to arrive into Libya.

A United States (US) shipment that included shelter sheeting, repair kits, hygiene supplies, blankets and water containers has already arrived on Wednesday in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Meanwhile, many residents have also called for an international investigation on the cause of the flood, a move that depicts that there has been a mistrust of state institutions in a country that has been divided between rival governments in the past years.

The call had received the support of the supreme council of state, which is the advisory body based in the capital, Tripoli.

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