The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has mobilised medicines, food items, body bags, first aid kits and other household items to Libya towards assisting thousands of families devastated by the flood that ravaged the country recently.
It should be recalled that this week, Storm Daneil hit Derna city in Libya resulting in devastating flood that left woes and anguish among the people of Libya. Before the flood, the city was said to have about 125,000 inhabitants.
The ravaging storm damaged the region’s dams leading to the release of millions of litres of water into the city, destroying swatches of the Mediterranean city in the process.
According to the BBC, CNN and Aljazeera, at least 5,300 people have been confirmed dead with over 10,000 others missing and there are speculations that the death toll could reach between 18,000 to 20,000.
“Additional ICRC teams are being sent to the region to distribute humanitarian assistance. The ICRC is also strengthening its forensics team in Benghazi as it distributes 6,000 body bags to help authorities and the Libyan Red Crescent Society ensure dignified treatment of the dead,” ICRC said in a statement.
According to Yann Fridez, the head of ICRC’s Libya delegation, “This disaster was violent and brutal. A wave 7 metres high wiped-out buildings and washed infrastructure into the sea. Now family members are missing, dead bodies are washing back up on shore, and homes are destroyed. The city faces immense emotional trauma,” adding that the team in Derna will support families with micro-economic activities.
Specifically, the materials donated to the flood victims include kitchen sets, mattresses, medicines and hygiene items and are to be distributed in Derna in coming weeks jointly with the Libyan Red Crescent Society.
“It’s heartening to see a sense of unity among the population and authorities who are uniting to provide as much assistance as possible. But this is a long road now. It will take many months, maybe years, for residents to recover from this huge level of damage,” Fridez added.
Fridez said that a major challenge for humanitarian action is access to the flood-hit areas due to the complete destruction of roads in the city. This is in addition to unexploded ordnance and abandoned munition stores in Derna.
