At least 2,300 people were killed in Libya and thousands more were reported missing on Tuesday after catastrophic flash floods broke river dams and tore through an eastern coastal city, devastating entire neighbourhoods. “We confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 persons so far,” Ramadan said via video link from Tunisia, which borders Libya. Access to the eastern region is limited. Phone and online links have been largely severed, but the administration’s prime minister Oussama Hamad has reported “more than 2,000 dead and thousands missing” in Derna alone. Libya’s National Petroleum Company, which has its main fields and terminals in eastern Libya, declared “a state of maximum alert” and suspended flights between production sites where it said activity was drastically reduced.

Local authorities have launched search-and-rescue operations, while authorities and national organizations have sent medical teams and aid convoys to the affected area. The UN in Libya has deployed emergency response staff and has mobilized assistance to people affected by the floods. The number of casualties is expected to increase as the search-and-rescue operations continue. NigerDespite challenges, humanitarian operations continue across the country. In May, we and our partners in Nigeria appealed for nearly $400 million to respond to the most severe needs in the three states through September.

TRIPOLI: At least 10,000 people were feared missing in Libya on Tuesday in floods caused by a huge storm that burst dams, swept away buildings and wiped out as much as a quarter of the eastern city of Derna. Videos showed a wide torrent running through the city centre after dams burst, wrecking buildings that stood on either side. “We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 so far,” he told reporters via video link. Pope Francis was among world leaders who said they were deeply saddened by the deaths and destruction in Libya. “Our team in Libya is reporting a disastrous situation for some of the most impoverished communities along the north coast.

CAIRO – 12 September 2023: Egyptian Chief of Staff Osama Askar arrived in Libya Tuesday, accompanied by 25 rescue teams as well as three military jets carrying food and medical supply, to express solidarity with the storm-hit country, meeting with Commander-in-chief of the National Libyan Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar. President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi had met earlier on Tuesday with a number of commanders of the Egyptian Armed Forces, instructing the delivery of humanitarian aid, rescue teams and equipment, as well as camping gear to Libya and Morocco by both air and sea. The death toll in Morocco, hit by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Friday, exceeded 2,800, while injuries stand at 2,500. Nevertheless, the figures may rise as rescue missions are not over yet. As for Libya, deaths caused by Storm Daniel in Derna on Monday recorded 2,800, while the search is still ongoing for 4,000.

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Water engineering experts have told the BBC it is likely that the upper dam, around 12km (eight miles) from the city, failed first - its water sweeping down the river valley towards the second dam, which is estimated to be about one kilometre from the low-lying part of Derna, where neighbourhoods were inundated.

At least 700 recovered bodies have been buried so far, the health minister for eastern Libya said. He told a U.N. briefing in Geneva via videoconference from Tunisia that at least 10,000 people were still missing. The destruction came to Derna and other parts of eastern Libya on Sunday night, when Mediterranean storm Daniel pounded the coast. The storm hit other areas in eastern Libya, including the town of Bayda, where about 50 people were reported dead. Hundreds of families were displaced and took shelter in schools and other government buildings in the city of Benghazi and elsewhere in eastern Libya.

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In Tripoli, the three-person Presidential Council which functions as head of state in the divided country asked the international community to help. Videos of Derna showed a wide torrent running through the city centre where a far narrower waterway had previously flowed. "People were asleep and woke up and found their homes surrounded by water," he told Reuters. However, Dbeibah’s government works closely with the Central Bank of Libya, which disburses funds to government departments across the country. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani instructed the government to send aid to the affected area in eastern Libya, Qatar’s state news agency reported.

blinking-dot Live updates Live updates,Libya floods live news: Thousands dead, missing in Derna after Storm DanielUp to 3,000 people are estimated to have been killed and 10,000 are missing after massive floods in eastern Libya.

Pope 'deeply saddened' by loss of life in LibyaPope Francis has expressed his sorrow over the loss of life and destruction in Libya where thousands have died in heavy flooding. The Pope said he was "deeply saddened to learn of the immense loss of life and destruction caused by the flooding in the eastern part of Libya", and that he was praying for all of the victims and their loved ones. His condolences were expressed in a telegram sent to the Apostolic Nuncio to Libya, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai. Tamer Ramadan, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' delegation to Libya, said the number of missing people stands at around 10,000. In his telegram, Pope Francis expressed his "heartfelt spiritual closeness" with first responders, the injured and those worried about missing loved ones.

CAIRO – 12 September 2023: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi met Tuesday with a number of commanders of the Egyptian Armed Forces, instructing the delivery of humanitarian aid, rescue teams and equipment, as well as camping gear to Libya and Morocco by both air and sea. The death toll in Morocco, hit by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Friday, exceeded 2,800, while injuries stand at 2,500. Nevertheless, the figures may rise as rescue missions are not over yet. As for Libya, deaths caused by Storm Daniel in Derna on Monday recorded 2,800, while the search is still ongoing for 4,000. The Libyan government, based in the east, had indicated that seven buildings collapsed, and that access to the city was difficult as the roads and bridges had been immersed.

Thousands of people are believed to have died after a severe storm caused disastrous flooding in the country of Libya. My heart goes out to the people of Libya who are going through catastrophic flooding caused by Storm Daniel. Libyans shared footage on social media over the weekend showing flooded houses and highways in various locations of eastern Libya. The east Libyan government’s prime minister, Osama Hamad, has declared Derna a disaster zone after torrential rains and floods damaged parts of the city. Another natural disaster strikes in North Africa, violent storms destroy dams causing mass flooding in Libya 🇱🇾 💔Some 2000 people feared drowned.

(AP/PTI Photo)Cairo: Libya’s eastern city of Derna has buried 700 people killed in devastating flooding and 10,000 were reported missing as rescuer teams struggled to retrieve many more bodies from the horrific deluge, officials said Tuesday. Referring to Friday’s devastating earthquake in Morocco, on the other side of North Africa, Ramadan said the situation in Libya was “as devastating as the situation in Morocco”. Ossama Hamad, prime minister of the government in eastern Libya, said that many of the missing were believed to have been carried away after two upstream dams burst. The storm hit other areas in eastern Libya, including the town of Bayda, where about 50 people were reported dead. Hundreds of families were displaced and took shelter in schools and other government buildings in the city of Benghazi and elsewhere in eastern Libya.

Cairo: Libya’s eastern city of Derna has buried 700 people killed in devastating flooding and 10,000 were reported missing as rescue teams struggled to retrieve many more bodies from the horrific deluge, officials said. Mediterranean storm Daniel on Sunday night caused havoc and flash flooding in many towns in eastern Libya but the worst destruction was in Derna, where heavy rainfall and floods broke dams and washed away entire neighbourhoods, authorities said. “The situation is catastrophic,” said Othman Abduljaleel, the health minister in Libya’s eastern government. “The bodies are still lying on the ground in many parts [of the city]. And there are areas we have yet to reach.”Authorities estimated earlier that as many as 2000 people may have perished in Derna alone.