TRANSCRIPT
Thousands of people have been killed and at least 10,000 have gone missing in Libya in floods caused by a huge Mediterranean storm that burst dams, swept away buildings and wiped out as much as a quarter of the eastern coastal city of Derna.
Storm Daniel barrelled across the Mediterranean into a country divided and crumbling after more than a decade of conflict.
In Derna, a city of around 125,000 inhabitants, there are wrecked neighbourhoods, washed out buildings and cars flipped on their roofs in streets covered in mud and rubble left by a wide torrent.
Mohamad al-Qabisi, director of the Wahda Hospital, says 1,700 people have been killed in one of the city's two districts and 500 have died in the other.
“The number of dead in this particular section (of the hospital) is 1,700 deaths so far. We counted them as they were lying in the hallways. Whoever is identified (by family or friends) is then buried. There are some who have not been identified - so we started photographing them and assigning numbers to them, then burying them as well. On the other side, they buried 500 people. Things are very bad, the hospital is dilapidated.”
A member of the Libyan medical personnel cries on air after being asked about latest casualties figures from the deadly storm in the country.
“May God have mercy on their souls, we consider them martyrs, God willing. This is a catastrophe from God and we cannot object. Our families, our brothers, figures are massive. We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return."
More than 70 victims of the floods that devastated the Libyan city of Derna hailed from a single southern Egyptian village, which mourned its losses on Wednesday morning.
Hundreds attended a mass funeral for 64 repatriated bodies in el-Sharif village in Beni Suef province.
Rabea Hanafy says his extended family lost 16 men in the flooding, only 12 of whom were buried.
“This is their fate. We can't escape God's fate. But this is a huge catastrophe for us, for this place. It’s the first time that it happened in the history that you get to a small village with a population between 10,000 to 15,000 people, and then 64 deaths in one day. Even with one or two deaths, the whole town mourns, so imagine now with 64 bodies arrived and the rest not yet and even we know nothing about them.“
In Australia, Libyans are concerned about the safety of their relatives after the devastating floods.
The Sydney-based Libyan doctor Abdelbasit Alhasadi told SBS Arabic24 that his cousins and other family members in Derna are missing.
Dr. Abdelbasit has called upon the Australian government to assist flood-affected areas in eastern Libya.
"I received news this morning that my extended family, the Al-Hasadi family, and everyone else who lives in the old city of Derna are missing due to flood waters."
The residents of Derna pleaded for international help as search teams combed streets, wrecked buildings and even the sea as they looked for bodies.
Aid workers who managed to reach the city said thousands are still missing and tens of thousands have been left homeless.
Abdalmula Suakr, a Derna resident, has called on international organisations to provide assistance.
"International bodies like the United Nations, relief agencies, and the World Health Organization need to step in with aid for our city. I must admit, our government and leaders did their part. Even regular civilians gave whatever they could. But the magnitude of this disaster is enormous."
The European Union activated its Civil Protection Mechanism on Wednesday to help Libya.
It said Germany, Romania, and Finland offered tents, field beds and blankets, 80 generators and food as well as water tanks.
The E-U said it was releasing an initial $835,000 ((500,000 euros)) in humanitarian funding.
German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christian Wagner says the situation is dramatic and that a needs assessment on the ground is underway to allow for coordinated action.
"Let me say in advance, of course, that the available information, you have seen the pictures from the regions there between Benghazi and Tobruk, is of course dramatic. The Foreign Minister has already spoken about this yesterday. So the needs assessment is now underway on the ground. It is very important in such cases that we act quickly, but above all also in a coordinated manner."
U-N High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed sorrow for the lives lost in Libya.
"I'm profoundly distressed that thousands of lives have been so brutally swept away in eastern Libya and so many more people have lost their loved ones, their homes, their communities, and their access to basic needs. Storm Daniel is yet another lethal reminder of the catastrophic impact of the changing climate can have on our world. I call on all Libyan political actors to overcome deadlocks and divisions and to act collectively in ensuring access to relief. This is a time for unity of purpose."
French soldiers loaded a cargo plane with disaster relief for Libya at the Istres military base in southern France.
A French government spokesperson said France is sending a rescue team of around 50 people aiming to be operational within 48 hours in Libya.
The assistance was deployed following talks between French President Emmanuel Macron and Mohammad al-Menfi, the head of Libya's presidential council.
