30,000 displaced people in Libyan city of Derna await aid as fears grow of disease outbreak

More than 30,000 displaced people in the Libyan city of Derna are waiting for humanitarian aid in an area hit by Cyclone Daniel, which left at least 7,000 dead and more than 10,000 missing this Sunday, as fears of a disease outbreak grow.

In this coastal town, the fourth largest with 120,000 inhabitants, almost 17 hours of heavy rainfall caused two dams to collapse, located a few kilometers from inhabited areas and with an interval of only thirty minutes, spilling 33 million liters of water into the center of the city ​​flooded, dragging entire neighborhoods and the four bridges that cross the Derna River into the sea.

On Thursday, the head of state asked the Attorney General to open an investigation to determine the reasons for the country’s collapse, as well as any negligence that may have contributed to this disaster, and to identify those responsible. Last year, researchers from the local Omar Al Mukhtar University warned in a study that the dams needed urgent maintenance due to the high potential risk of flooding, although authorities took no action.

One day before the arrival of the cyclone, the city council asked to evacuate the areas near this reservoir, but the government limited itself to imposing a curfew in several municipalities, explained the city’s mayor, Abdel Moneim al-Ghaithi . a conference. In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Al Ghaithi announced that the death toll could be as high as 20,000, based on estimates from those living in the devastated areas.

Help arrives piecemeal

The various teams mobilized by organizations and the international community have been blocked by the total destruction of the roads leading to Derna, the lack of electricity supply and the shutdown of telecommunications.

Round-the-clock cleanup efforts are underway to remove debris that may have caused casualties, pump out standing water and reopen roads by removing fallen buildings and water-swept cars.

Hopes of finding survivors have all but disappeared, rescuers and volunteers continue the search for bodies as the numbers increase. fear of an epidemic outbreak. The director of the National Center for Disease Control, Haider Al-Sayeh, has warned of the danger of environmental pollution due to the mixing of wastewater and drinking water, as well as the decomposition of corpses and diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. For this reason, it has launched a vaccination campaign, aimed at 20,000 minors, to prevent diseases such as hepatitis, cholera or malaria.