The tropical storm “Daniel”, which hit central Europe last week, moved towards the south of the Mediterranean basin and hit the Benghazi region of Libya today (Monday). The head of the parliament in eastern Libya said that about two thousand people were killed in the disaster, and thousands more are still missing.
The earthquake in Morocco: “Houses collapsed in front of us, people were trampled in panic”
The vacation in Greece that turned into a horror movie: “We were forgotten, we are without food and electricity”
In the port city of Darna, eyewitnesses reported to Reuters that the water level reached three meters. “When we woke up in the morning, the house was surrounded by water on all sides,” the city resident told the news agency. “We can’t go out.”
Two water dams in Derna collapsed simultaneously due to Storm Daniel, unleashing over 33 million cubic meters of water that caused devastating flooding in the city, local sources said. pic.twitter.com/nVivPHEhnG
— The Libya Observer (@Lyobserver) September 11, 2023
The floods caused a lot of damage to the infrastructure: roads collapsed, cars were swept away by flowing mud, and buildings collapsed on their occupants. The rescue teams in the country continue their attempts to locate the trapped and missing, and the government in Benghazi announced three days of mourning, along with closing schools and imposing a curfew in parts of the disaster area.
The representative of the Red Crescent told Reuters that “so far we have recorded 150 deaths due to collapsed buildings, we estimate that in the coming days the death toll will rise to 250”, he added that “the situation is catastrophic”.
Local residents in Bayda, east #Libyaurge the authorities to declare a state of disaster as Storm Daniel lashes the city, causing mass flooding in most of the areas including the city’s Central Hospital. pic.twitter.com/n89MDiOYbB
— The Libya Observer (@Lyobserver) September 10, 2023
Last week, as mentioned, the storm “Daniel” hit Central Europe and caused widespread flooding in Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria. So far, the authorities in the three countries have reported seven deaths, and extensive damage to property and infrastructure.
At the height of the storm, in the Pleon district of Greece, centimeters of rain were measured – the highest rate of precipitation in the country since 2006. In some places, the flood level reached waist height, and cars were seen drifting in the muddy water.