Aid begins to arrive in Libya after the devastating Daniel Pass

International aid begins to arrive in Derna, the most affected area of ​​the dozen cities in northeastern Libya hit by the passage of Cyclone Daniel, which has caused at least 6,872 deaths and more than 10,000 missing, according to provisional figures from the Libyan government. this, while the morgues collapse due to the incessant arrival of bodies.

The head of the Presidential Council – which acts as Head of State – Mohamed al Manfi, has recognized that it is “a disaster that exceeds Libya’s capabilities” and insisted on the urgency of international aid, which faces the difficulties of access to the most affected areas.

The city of Derna, a coastal town with 120,000 inhabitants, was until now inaccessible by land after torrential rains caused two dams to collapse, releasing 33 million liters of water that washed entire neighborhoods and the four bridges that cross the river into the sea. Derna River.

According to the Minister of Aviation, it is likely that 25% of the city has disappeared under water.

Meanwhile, more than 30,000 inhabitants have been displaced in Derna alone, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Precarious infrastructure and “chaotic management”

One of the reasons for the rapid collapse of these reservoirs could be, according to experts, the poor state of their infrastructure, the lack of safety measures and the absence of maintenance.

Despite the urgency of the situation, the opposing authorities in the east and west of the country have not managed to coordinate a joint strategy, which some analysts describe as “chaotic management,” although both separately requested humanitarian aid this Monday and declared three days of national mourning.

The Government of National Unity (GNU), based in Tripoli (west) and recognized by the international community, has already sent a plane with 14 tons of supplies and nearly a hundred medical personnel to the eastern area.

From abroad, countries such as Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Jordan have approved economic and material aid to help the victims.

For its part, the UN has immediately released ten million dollars from its emergency fund to bring vital supplies to flood victims and prevent a health crisis that could be caused by the high number of deaths lying outdoors. , lack of drinking water or other factors.

The worst floods in 40 years

After hitting Greece and Turkey, Cyclone Daniel was downgraded to a subtropical storm on September 9 and began to weaken as it headed toward neighboring Egypt, according to a report from the Arab Regional Meteorological Center.

However, as it passed through Libya, it has caused the worst floods in the last four decades, with torrential rains of between 150 and 240 mm and winds of up to 80 kilometers per hour that caused electricity towers to collapse.

Furthermore, the scarcity of resources has forced rescuers and volunteers to extract victims from the rubble with household utensils and bury them in mass graves in the Martouba cemetery, about twenty kilometers away.

The images spread on social networks show some hospitals such as the one in the town of Shiha, where hundreds of bodies are piled up in the outdoor patio due to lack of space in the morgue. With EFE

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