The spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior of the government of eastern Libya, Tariq Al-Kharaz, announced on Tuesday that 5,200 people were killed in the city of Derna alone as a result of Hurricane “Daniel,” of whom 1,300 people were buried.
The spokesman expected that “the death toll in Derna would rise to more than 10,000 people.”
After Hurricane Daniel swept through Greece a few days ago, it moved like a powerful storm in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday, causing roads to be flooded with water and destroying buildings in Derna, and causing damage to other residential communities along the coast, including the city of Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya.
Earlier, the Minister of Health in the Eastern Government, Othman Abdel Jalil, announced that the death toll had risen to 3,000, most of them in the city of Derna, and thousands were missing.
Abdul Jalil added, “There are thousands of missing people, and the statistics are increasing, and we are working on an accurate inventory to assess the human damage.”
The Minister of Civil Aviation in the government of eastern Libya, Hisham Shekiwat, said on Tuesday that more than a thousand bodies had been recovered in the city of Derna, and that it is not possible to count the total number of deaths at the present time, but the number is very large.
Minister: It is very disastrous in Derna. Bodies are lying everywhere in the sea, in valleys, under buildings, I am not exaggerating when I say that 25 percent of the city has disappeared.
He added, “I returned from there (Derna) It is very disastrous Bodies are lying everywhere in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings.”
He continued, “I do not have a total number of deaths, but it is very large The number of bodies recovered in Derna exceeded a thousand I am not exaggerating when I say that 25 percent of the city has disappeared.”
For his part, Tamer Ramadan, head of the Union’s mission in Libya, told reporters in Geneva via television from Tunisia, “We can confirm from our independent sources that the number of missing people has reached ten thousand so far.”
Yesterday, the authorities in eastern Libya said that at least 2,000 people had been killed and that thousands more were missing.
Ahmed Al-Mismari, spokesman for the eastern Libyan forces, said during a press conference broadcast on television that the disaster came after the collapse of the dams over Derna, sweeping entire neighborhoods and their residents into the sea.
Al-Mismari estimated the number of missing people at between five and six thousand.
In Tripoli, the Libyan Presidential Council requested assistance from the international community. “We ask brotherly and friendly countries and international organizations to provide assistance and support,” he said.
Video footage from Derna showed a wide torrent of water flowing through the city center in a place where previously a much less wide waterway was located, while destroyed and damaged buildings appeared on both sides.
A video clip from the Libya Al-Mustaqbal channel on social media showed people standing on the roofs of their cars calling for help and water sweeping away the cars.
Osama Hammad, head of the parallel eastern government in Libya, supported by parliament, told the Libyan Al-Massar channel, “Thousands are missing and the number of dead has exceeded two thousand.” He added, “There are neighborhoods in the city of Derna that have completely disappeared with their residents they were swept away by water.”
Al-Mismari stated that seven soldiers from the Libyan National Army were killed in the flood.
Surrounded by water
Libya Al-Mustaqbal channel published pictures of a collapsed road between Sousse and Shahat, which contains Cyrene, the archaeological site established by the Greeks and included on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Libyan House of Representatives, located in the east of the country, declared three days of mourning. Prime Minister of the National Unity Government in Tripoli, Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, declared three days of mourning in all affected cities, describing them as “disaster areas.”
The Tripoli government, led by Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, announced the dispatch of two ambulances, a helicopter, 87 doctors and a rescue team, in addition to technicians from the National Electricity Company, to try to restore electricity.
Rescue teams sent by Türkiye also arrived in eastern Libya, according to the authorities.
The US Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, announced on the “X” platform that the embassy issued “a declaration of humanitarian need that would authorize the initial funding that the United States will provide to support relief efforts in Libya.”
In turn, European Union Foreign Affairs Coordinator Josep Borrell said, “The European Union is saddened by the images of devastation in Libya, which was devastated by extreme weather conditions that caused tragic human losses, and is closely monitoring the situation and is ready to provide its support.”
Also, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Lugendre announced on Tuesday that France is ready to send “emergency aid” to the affected population in Libya.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Taiani announced on Tuesday, via the “X” platform, that Italy will provide aid to Libya, explaining, “An assessment team coordinated by the (Italian) Civil Protection has headed to the country.”
World Health Organization spokeswoman Margaret Harris described the situation in Libya as a “tragic disaster.”
At the same time, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization noted the disappearance of “entire neighborhoods” in Derna, where “their residents were swept away by water after the collapse of two ancient dams, making the situation catastrophic and out of control.”
Qatar News Agency reported yesterday that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, directed the government to send aid to the affected areas in eastern Libya.
Morocco, which witnessed a devastating earthquake at the weekend, expressed its solidarity with Libya and its condolences to the families of the victims.
On Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi declared a state of mourning for three days “in solidarity” with the victims of Libya and Morocco. The presidency stated that Sisi directed “the armed forces to provide immediate support and humanitarian relief, by air and sea,” to the two countries. While Algeria said it would send aid in eight military aircraft.
Experts described Storm Daniel , which also struck parts of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria in recent days, killing at least 27 people, as “extremely severe in terms of the amount of water that fell within 24 hours.”
Eastern Libya includes major oil fields and stations. The National Oil Corporation declared a “state of maximum alert” and suspended flights between production sites whose activity has decreased significantly.
It is believed that hundreds are still stranded in difficult-to-reach areas, while rescue teams, supported by the army, are trying to reach them to provide assistance.
Libya, which has the largest oil reserves in Africa, has been witnessing chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
The country has been governed for more than a year by two competing governments: one in the west, headed by Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba, and another in the east, headed by Osama Hammad, commissioned by Parliament and supported by General Khalifa Haftar.
Rabat : Moroccans come to donate blood, money, blankets and food aid to those affected by the earthquake
Major commercial centers in Morocco are currently witnessing voluntary humanitarian initiatives carried out by citizens and NGO activists, which consist of collecting various aid to be sent via cars and trucks towards the areas affected by the earthquake in the areas of Marrakesh, Al Haouz, and Taroudant. This aid includes blankets, food supplies, and others.
Three days ago, large numbers of Moroccans went to various blood transfusion centers, and those wishing to donate to those injured in the earthquake formed long queues that the country had not witnessed previously, as the centers’ doctors and nurses asked donors to return in the following days after reaching the maximum capacity of those centers.
Calls are being made around the clock through the media and social media pages to contribute money to the fund that was allocated to help provide relief to the afflicted, provide them with housing, and repair the rugged mountain roads and trails that were damaged by the force of the earthquake.
Speaking to Arabic news Mohsen Benzakour, a specialist in social psychology, said that the values of solidarity expressed by Moroccans are not something strange to them, and he recalled examples in which they practically embodied those values, including crises that the country experienced.
Observers recorded that Moroccans provided wonderful lessons in solidarity, resilience, and strength in overcoming adversity, which they expressed from the first minutes following the earthquake, when everyone took to the streets, Friday, September 8, at night, contributing to calming each other’s fears, spreading reassurance in the souls of their children, and trying to save those who died. Some of them were suspended under the rubble of buildings and the wounds of those injured were treated.
As soon as dawn broke on Saturday and the extent of the damage of the “Al Haouz earthquake” was revealed, relative to the “Al Haouz” region in the High Atlas Mountains around the city of Marrakesh, and the severity of the weather became clear in remote villages, Moroccans embarked on a journey of solidarity and headed to various blood transfusion centers in a number of cities and provinces. The country.
Since the day following the deadly earthquake, which reached 7 degrees on the Richter scale, the roads heading to the affected areas experienced great activity, and a group of Moroccan citizens and civil society organizations took the initiative to load supplies, food materials, blankets and mattresses and head towards the affected villages in the heart of the High Atlas Mountains. They did not care about the rugged terrain and the difficulty of the paths cut off by rockslides.
Activists from civil society organizations, charitable and volunteer organizations, and volunteer citizens launched calls on social media sites to collect in-kind donations. It was enough for associations to go in front of the major commercial centers and fill trucks to the brim with all kinds of food supplies, blankets, and mattresses, donated by male and female citizens, in no more than a period of time. Two to three hours, before traveling towards the affected villages.
In turn, Moroccan women did not delay in displaying pieces of gold jewelry on social media sites, wanting to sell it and donate its price to purchase supplies, water, bread, and other necessities, and to assist in whatever way possible in the relief and assistance process.
Among the images of solidarity of the Moroccan people is that a group of rural women kneaded and baked large quantities of bread and distributed them. One of the volunteers in an afflicted village tells that the women, despite their simplicity and poverty, agreed to prepare quantities of bread and went to him asking him to provide pieces of bread to those in need. He says with great emotion: “The bread was still hot and soft. They spent part of the night kneading and baking, and as soon as dawn came, they brought it to me.”
In addition to more than 2,500 health personnel, divided between doctors and nurses, mobilized by the Moroccan state to aid survivors and injured people, a group of volunteer female and male doctors, in addition to male and female nurses, set out with their equipment and accompanied by quantities of medicine, towards the villages witnessing a large number of injured and wounded, in order to provide First aid, wound dressing and monitoring of pregnant women and children.
Moroccans residing abroad were on time, as usual, and took the initiative to collect donations and aid, especially medical equipment and medicines, in order to send them to the victims of the devastating earthquake, asking the customs authorities in the country to ease and facilitate procedures to allow easy and rapid entry.
A number of Moroccan immigrants in various cities in Spain, Italy, and France sent calls to collect aid, including blankets, tents, and medicines, with the aim of directing it to their home country in the next few days.
This popular outburst from all sides inside and outside the country, to help the afflicted, made Dr. Mohsen Benzakour, a specialist in social psychology, confirm that “the values of solidarity that Moroccans demonstrated during the “Al Haouz earthquake” are not something foreign to them,” and he stressed, “In times of adversity, steel appears.” The origin of individuals as well as peoples, and Morocco is not a country born of modern history, but rather dates back to centuries of existence, including the crises that the country experienced and dealt with, and Moroccan memory is not a short memory, but rather rooted in history.”
The Moroccan specialist believes, in an interview with Al-Quds Al-Arabi, that the circumstances that Moroccans have gone through for centuries made them realize that there is no presence or survival for them on this land except through their solidarity, and thus this fact was reflected even in the daily behavior of the Moroccan person who opens his house in front of his neighbor’s guests when he lives. Weddings or funerals, and he shares everything.”
The speaker stated that this spirit has continued since ancient times, because the homeland is a religion, love, clinging to life, and a feeling for the pain of others. When Moroccans see pictures and stories of their brothers who were not merciful by circumstances and live in the high mountains, a natural phenomenon occurs and increases their pain. I do not believe that a healthy person is His emotions and values will not move.
Benzakor concluded his speech to “Al-Quds Al-Arabi” by saying: “We remember the story of the child Rayan and how Morocco and the Moroccans were one hand, as well as the Al Hoceima earthquake in 2004 and the solidarity of the Moroccans. There is a very strong spirit of citizenship among the Moroccans and they always express it in daily events or when such events and disasters occur.” Painful.”