Most of the missing persons from the flood have likely died, which means the actual death toll could have reached 20,000, and thousands of bodies that have not yet been buried are beginning to decompose.
Last night (September 13), several officials in eastern Libya indicated that the actual death toll from the catastrophic flood that swept through the city of Derna on September 10-11 could have reached 20,000.
In an interview with Al Arabia, the Mayor of Derna, Abdelmonaem Al Gheithy, stated that most of the missing persons from the flood have likely perished, suggesting that the death toll could indeed be as high as 20,000.
The actual death toll from the catastrophic flood that swept through the city of Derna on September 10-11 could have reached 20,000 – Photo illustration: Reuter
Similarly, the Information Advisor to the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Abdelkarem Al Moreimy, also estimated that around 8,000 people have died, with at least 10,000 reported missing due to the flood. Given the almost negligible chances of survival for the missing, the real death toll could be between 18,000 and 20,000, or even higher.
Meanwhile, sources from Derna report that thousands of bodies remain unburied as they await identification. Most of these bodies are not being kept in body bags and have begun to decompose, posing a severe environmental contamination risk.
Regarding rescue operations, the Libyan military yesterday requested all residents of the city to move to safer areas to facilitate the search for missing persons and the recovery of bodies buried under the rubble and along the coastline.
As planned, today (September 14), the Libyan Parliament will hold an extraordinary session to discuss flood recovery efforts.
