Death tolls from the flood have ranged from 4,000 to more than 11,000, and survivors have shown concern over disorganized rescue efforts and uneven aid distribution. The burst dams had been visibly cracked since 1998, and angered flood survivors have called into question Libyan leaders’ negligence towards protecting their infrastructure. Hichem Abu Chkiouat, minister of civil aviation, told Reuters that journalist expulsions were carried out in an effort to help rescue teams. “It is an attempt to create better conditions for the rescue teams to carry out the work more smoothly and effectively,” Chkiouat said. The U.N. has sent search and rescue teams into the city which are still operating, yet an additional team from Benghazi was blocked.
