Cairo, (H.C.). The head of one of Libya’s rival governments said on Monday that up to 2,000 people were feared dead in flooding in eastern parts of the North African country.
In a phone interview with ‘Al-Masr’ television station, Prime Minister Osama Hamad said that 2,000 people were feared dead in the eastern city of Derna and thousands more were reported missing. The Prime Minister on Monday declared three days of mourning and ordered the national flag to be flown at half mast across the country. He said that the floods after the devastating storm Daniel have caused huge devastation in Derna. After this the city has been declared a disaster area.
Abdul Jalil, while giving information about the death toll in an interview to ‘Al-Arabiya’ on Monday afternoon, said that at least 50 people are missing. Abdul Jalil said that this number of dead does not include the number of Derna city which was declared a disaster affected area. The situation here was not clear till Monday afternoon. The city’s main medical center said the dead included 12 people from the eastern city of Bayda.
Seven other people were reported dead in the coastal city of Susa in northeastern Libya, according to the ambulance and emergency authority. The minister said seven other people were reported killed in the towns of Shahatt and Omar al-Mukhtar.
The death of one more person was confirmed on Sunday. The man was in his car and was trapped in flooding in the eastern city of Marj, according to Walid al-Arfi, a spokesman for the government-run emergency response agency in eastern Libya.
According to local media, dozens of other people are reported missing in the flood and officials fear that they may have died in the flood. Flooding has destroyed homes and other property in several cities in eastern Libya. The government had declared a state of emergency on Saturday and educational institutions were closed as a precautionary measure ahead of the storm that struck overnight. A storm is expected to hit parts of western Egypt on Monday, and the country’s weather authorities warned of possible rain and bad weather.
