At least 150 people have lost their lives after Storm Daniel triggered deadly flooding in Eastern Libya, a report has said.
Storm Daniel, a powerful storm, erupted in the North African nation over the weekend after leaving a dozen people dead in Europe.
“At least 150 people were killed as a result of flooding and torrential rains left by storm Daniel in Derna, the Jabal al-Akhdar region, and the suburbs of Al-Marj,” a spokesman for the Benghazi-based administration in Libya, Mohamed Massoud, told AFP.
Footage making the rounds on social media showed people helpless on the roofs of their vehicles as the cities of Benghazi, Sousse, Al Bayda, Al-Marj, and Derna were hit by Storm Daniel.
A state of extreme emergency was declared by Libyan authorities as a series of flooding and torrential rains left many homes submerged.
“We were asleep, and when we woke up, we found water besieging the house. We are inside and trying to get out,” a resident of Derna, Ahmed Mohamed, told reporters on Monday.
The United Nations (U.N.) in Libya has also said it was closely monitoring the storm and would “provide urgent relief assistance in support of response efforts at local and national levels”.
Footage broadcast by Eastern Libya’s Almostkbal TV showed properties and vehicles washed away by the heavy floods.
Seven military officials of the Libyan National Army (LNA) have been announced missing, according to spokesman Ahmad Mismari, with a curfew imposed with shops, four oil ports, and schools closed down.
The LNA is led by Khalifa Haftar, which oversees the eastern part of the divided African nation.
The prime minister of the internationally recognised government in Libya’s capital Tripoli, Abdulhamid Dbeiba, affirmed on Sunday that he had instructed all state agencies to “immediately deal” with the crisis following Storm Daniel.
Libya has been torn into two factions and led by two rival leaders since 2014 after long-time leader Muammar Gadaffi was killed in 2011.
The Spokesman for the Libyan National Army (LNA), General Ahmed Al-Mismari, last month confirmed that a Chadian aircraft carried out airstrikes on opposition groups in the south of Libya.
Al-Mismari said with the approval of the Libyan government, the Chadian army targeted Chadian opposition locations inside Libyan territory and decimated several ammunition and weapons depots.
Airstrikes resulting in the deaths of four opposition fighters were reported by the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT). FACT announced the cancellation of the ceasefire declared in April 2021.
According to FACT: “The ruling military council has declared war on us. Therefore, the Coalition for Change and Concord in Chad (CCOC) announces the end of the unilateral ceasefire declared in April 2021, and assures the military council that its response will be swift and unrestricted.”
In June, Chadian Minister of Defence, General Daoud Yaya Brahim strongly criticised the rebel groups, accusing them of recruiting minors to carry out attacks from Libya.
Storm Daniel hit Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria leaving many dead, and is expected to reach the West of Egypt on Monday.
Climate experts have advised that global warming has accelerated water evaporation during the summer, leading to more deadly storms.
