Libya Floods: UAE Sends Aid, and Condolences After Big Disaster

Last updated on September 14th, 2023 at 05:16 am

The Mediterranean storm Daniel triggered havoc and flash flooding in a number of towns in eastern Libya on Sunday night but the destruction was worst in Derna, where entire city neighbourhoods were washed away and hospitals remain filled with bodies.

The health minister in the eastern Libyan government said they have so far buried 700 people killed in Derna. Meanwhile, authorities estimate the event has caused as many as 2,000 fatalities in the city alone. Rescue teams continue retrieving hundreds of bodies from the rubble.

Some 10,000 people remain missing, according to Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Speaking to reporters, he said the death toll was “huge” and expected to reach into the thousands in the coming days.

Libya Floods Amid Deep Divisions And Inadequate Infrastructure

Ramadan said the situation in Libya was “as devastating as the situation in Morocco”, where a 6.8 magnitude earthquake has killed at least 2,800 people and injured a similar number of others. Friday’s tremors also brought devastation to the Unesco-protected old city of Marrakesh.

More than a decade of chaos has left the oil-rich Libya with crumbling and inadequate infrastructure. The country remains divided between two rival administrations, with each one of them supported by different militias and foreign governments.

Many of the missing in the floods are believed to have been carried away after two upstream dams burst, said Ossama Hamad, prime minister of the government in eastern Libya. He said the unprecedented extreme weather event in Derna was far beyond the country’s capabilities.

UAE Humanitarian Aid to Derna, in Libya Floods And Morocco Too!

UAE aims to help those in need, irrespective of region, religion and diplomacy The UAE has sent team of experts to Derna to help those in need in Libya Floods.

The UAE has pledged to help Libya in the wake of devastating floods that have killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more by sending humanitarian aid. The UAE has sent a team of experts to Derna, one of the hardest-hit cities, to assess the damage and provide assistance. The Libyan floods have also caused widespread damage to infrastructure and crops. The UAE’s offer of help is a welcome gesture of solidarity in a time of need.

In line with the Emirates’ objective to help those in need, irrespective of the region, religion and diplomacy, President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has directed to send urgent relief aid and search and rescue teams to Libya to support its mitigating efforts.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s Interior Ministry on Sunday said in a statement the country had accepted offers of assistance from four countries, including the UK and the UAE – emphasising offers of support from other friendly countries could be accepted based on potential requirements.

Sheikh Mohamed has directed the opening of an air bridge to support ongoing relief efforts in Morocco, with Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, instructing the emirate’s rescue and ambulance teams to support those working to trace victims.