Libya flood damage revealed as 10,000 remain missing
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.
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Rescuers search for bodies in flood water
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.
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Huge aid package including body bags arrives in Libya
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Libya governance situation ‘incredibly difficult’
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.
Volunteers carry a body discovered under the rubble of a building in Derna on Sunday
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.”
Countries in South and Southeast Asia have been coping with a weeks-long heatwave which has seen record temperatures sweep parts of the region.
Pupils in the Philippines, India and Bangladesh have been told to stay at home and learn remotely due to a severe health risk.
Schools in Cambodia have also cut back on their hours.
Cambodia faces its hottest temperature in 170 years, according to meteorologists – as high as 43C (109F).
Bangkok in Thailand has reached 40C (104 F), but the heat index is said to have topped 50 C (122 F) due to the heat being trapped among the mass of buildings.
The United Nations Children’s Fund warned in April that the heat could put the lives of millions of children at risk and asked people who care for them to take extra precautions.
A spokesperson for UNICEF said around 243 million children were exposed to hotter and longer heatwaves.
A woman drinks from a public tap in India. Pic: AP
They said the increased heat was “putting them at risk of a multitude of heat-related illnesses, and even death”.
Thirty people in Thailand have died from heatstroke in the past month, according to data from the country’s health ministry.
People are being advised to avoid outdoor activities and to stay hydrated.
Several towns in Myanmar were included on lists of the hottest spots globally last month, with temperatures reaching 48.2C (118F) in at least one case.
People stock up on water in India. Pic: AP
Parts of eastern India also experienced their hottest April on record.
Kerala, on India’s west coast, this week instructed all schools and colleges to close until Monday, while influencers in Bangladesh have encouraging people to plant trees in response to the record heat.
Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said there were three factors for heatwaves: a naturally-occurring climate phenomenon known as El Nino, an increase in global temperatures, and human-induced climate change.
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Brazil is currently experiencing another climate phenomenon – La Nina – with 39 dead and 68 missing in floods across the country.
More than 24,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to the flooding.
Scientists believe the naturally-occurring phenomenon has intensified due to the impact of climate change.
China has been branded “a bully” and an international lawbreaker after its ships blasted Philippine vessels with water cannon in the South China Sea.
Sky News was on board the BRP Bagacay when a Chinese vessel fired water at it, causing significant damage.
Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela told Sky News that this week’s confrontation was the first time China had used “such aggression” against their ships.
“The metal parts and the railing were bent. The canopy was also destroyed. So this came as a surprise for us that China never hesitated to use brute force,” he said.
“It completely justifies us calling The People’s Republic of China a bully country.”
Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coastguard, told Sky News that China is a ‘bully’
The Philippine coastguard was on a resupply mission to the Scarborough Shoal to deliver food and fuel to Philippine fishermen when they were struck.
The submerged reef lies in disputed waters. China claims sovereignty over the reef but it is much closer to the Philippines and lies within its legally recognised exclusive economic zone.
The vessel Sky News was on board was the closest the coastguard had ever been to the shoal – just 600 metres away from it.
Asked if the mission to the shoal was a provocative move by the Philippine coastguard, Commodore Tarriela denied they were “poking the bear” but rather “driving the bear out of our own territory”.
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Sky witnesses China-Philippine confrontation
The Philippines has been stepping up its patrols in the area under the instruction of President Bongbong Marcos, and reasserting its claim to the shoal in recent months.
It has raised the spectre of open conflict. While neither side currently wants that, there is now a greater threat of open conflict.
Asked what the end game was for the Philippines, Commodore Tarriela said their priority was to “tell the world” about China’s aggression.
China’s coastguard fired water at Philippine coastguard vessel BRP Bagacay while Sky was onboard
He said their secondary goal was to ensure “like-minded states” also made China “fall in line and respect international law”.
“Otherwise, it’s everybody’s loss,” he added.
Read more:
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China building airstrip on disputed island, satellite images suggest
Philippine government policy is not to resist using water cannon against Chinese vessels – and Commodore Tarriela insisted that policy remains in place after the confrontation.
The government also remains intensely determined to protect the waters it believes it has every right to operate in.
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“We’re not going to yield and we’re not going to surrender a square inch of our territory,” Commodore Tarriela insisted.
Beijing has called the action its own coastguard took as “necessary”.
Speaking at the Chinese foreign ministry’s daily news conference, spokesperson Lin Jian described the coastguard’s conduct as “professional, proper, and lawful”.
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