Libya flood damage revealed as 10,000 remain missing

Published

1 year ago

September 17, 2023

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Almost 900 buildings in Libya’s coastal city of Derna were completely destroyed in last week’s catastrophic flooding, officials have revealed.

A tally by the country’s government has found at least 891 structures had been totally demolished, while a further 211 buildings were partially damaged and almost 400 others were submerged in mud.

It means approximately a quarter of all buildings in the city were damaged in the flooding.

In Derna alone, at least 11,300 people died and a further 10,000 are missing, feared dead, according to latest estimates a week on from the disaster.

Another 170 people were killed elsewhere in the country, and more than 40,000 people have been displaced, a UN report said.

It comes as rescue crews and health officials struggle to deal with the aftermath of the deluge.

Teams are still digging through mud and buildings looking for bodies and possible survivors – although hopes are fading.

Survivors are facing a dilemma over whether to stay in Derna despite a lack of fresh water.

Haider al-Saeih, head of Libya’s centre for combating diseases, said at least 150 people had suffered from diarrhoea after drinking contaminated water. He urged residents to only drink bottled water, which is being shipped in as part of relief efforts.

Authorities also began fumigating areas of the city on Saturday amid fears over the spread of disease.

Vehicles were seen driving through its streets releasing smoke through funnels attached to the rear.

Attempts to leave the area have been made more difficult because landmines from recent conflicts in the country were displaced by the flood waters.

Libya’s general prosecutor, al-Sediq al-Sour, announced an official investigation into the collapse of two dams above the city last Sunday, which has been identified as a major factor in the extent of the devastation in the city.

Water from the reservoirs washed away many residential buildings in Derna and swept bodies out to sea.

Prosecutors will now investigate the collapse of the dams, which were built in the 1970s, as well as the allocation of maintenance funds.

The UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned that the civil war in Libya had “broken the infrastructure” the UK would normally use to provide aid.

He said challenges in delivering help had been highlighted by Sky’s Alex Crawford, who has been reporting on the situation from Derna.

Speaking to Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Mr Cleverly said the UK had provided £1m worth of support, which included sending an emergency medical team.

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Mr Cleverly added: “But the governance situation in Libya makes it incredibly difficult. Essentially it is a divided country and, as Alex was saying, in other places the international effort can move more quickly.

“The civil war has, in many ways, broken the infrastructure that you would normally wish to deploy in a terrible, terrible situation like this.”

World

More than a dozen people missing after tourist boat sinks off coast of Egypt

Published

4 hours ago

November 25, 2024

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More than a dozen people missing after tourist boat sinks off coast of Egypt

More than a dozen people are missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, officials have said.

The boat, Sea Story, was carrying 45 people, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 14 crew.

Authorities are searching for 17 people who are still missing, the governor of the Red Sea region said on Monday, adding that 28 people had been rescued.

The vessel was part of a diving trip when it went down near the coastal town of Marsa Alam.

Officials said a distress call was received at 5.30am local time on Monday.

The boat had departed from Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was scheduled to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on 29 November.

Some survivors had been airlifted to safety on a helicopter, officials said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the four-deck, wooden-hulled motor yacht to sink.

The firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, said it has no information on the matter.

According to its maker’s website, the Sea Story was built in 2022.

The incident comes after the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a warning on Saturday about turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea.

The organisation had advised against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday.

Some tourist companies have stopped or limited operations on the Red Sea due to the potential dangers from conflicts in the region.

World

Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv – as commander ‘sacked for lying about war progress’

Published

17 hours ago

November 25, 2024

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv - as commander 'sacked for lying about war progress'

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.

Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks.

Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.

Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.

“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state.

“But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”

Russia did not comment on the attack.

It comes as Russian media reported that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the country’s southern military district, had been removed from his role over allegedly providing misleading reports about his troops’ progress.

While Russian forces have advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, forces have been much slower around Siversk and the eastern region of Donetsk.

Russian war bloggers have long complained that units there are poorly supported and thrown into deadly battles for little tactical gain.

Russia’s ministry of defence has not commented on the reports.

World

Russian forces capture ‘former British soldier’ fighting for Ukraine – reports

Published

19 hours ago

November 24, 2024

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Russian forces capture 'former British soldier' fighting for Ukraine - reports

Russian forces have reportedly captured a British man while he was fighting for Ukraine.

In a widely circulated video posted on Sunday, the man says his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22.

He says he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after his job.

He is dressed in army fatigues and speaks with an English accent as he says to camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment.”

He tells the camera he was “just a private”, “a signalman” in “One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron”.

“When I left… got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.

“My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”

In a second video, he is shown with his hands tied and at one point, with tape over his eyes.

He describes how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”

Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a “UK mercenary” had been “taken prisoner in the Kursk area” of Russia.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.

The Ministry of Defence has declined to comment at this stage.