2,300 Killed, 10,000 Missing As Tsunami-Like Flood Hits Libya

• A tsunami-like flood has hit Derna City in Libya after Storm Daniel struck on Sunday, September 10
• The number of casualties is expected to increase, with 2,300 killed and about 10,000 people reportedly missing
• The rescue team is struggling to retrieve the bodies of victims as the entire neighbourhoods have been dragged into the sea

Libya, Derna - No fewer than 2,300 people have been killed, and about 10,000 are reported missing after Storm Daniel hit Derna City in Libya.

This is according to the ambulance authority in Derna and the Red Crescent, BBC News reported.

The tsunami-like flood, which happened on Sunday, September 10, collapsed two dams and four bridges.

The Red Crescent said the death toll is expected to rise further as rescue teams are struggling to retrieve the bodies of victims that have been swept out to the sea.

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BBC reported harrowing stories of people being swept out to sea while others clung to rooftops to survive.

It was gathered that Libya’s split between two rival governments has hampered rescue efforts from outside the North African country.

Massive neighbourhood destroyed as flood submerges Libyan city

Hisham Chkiouat, from Libya's eastern-based government, told BBC Newshour that the collapse of one of the dams to the south of Derna had dragged large parts of the city into the sea.

He said:

"I was shocked by what I saw, it's like a tsunami. A massive neighbourhood has been destroyed - there is a large number of victims, which is increasing each hour."

Kasim Al-Qatani, an aid worker in the town of Bayda said the only hospital in Derna could no longer take patients.

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“There are more than 700 dead bodies waiting in the hospital and it's not that big".

According to Reuters, Storm Daniel barrelled across the Mediterranean and burst dams, swept away buildings and wiped out as much as a quarter of the eastern coastal city of Derna.

Massive flooding looms as Cameroon set to open Lagdo Dam

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reportedly received an alert over a looming flood on the banks of River Benue.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the alert in a letter dated August 21.

The letter, signed by Umar Salisu, the ministry’s director of African affairs, said the Cameroonian government plans to “open the flood gates of the Lagdo Dam on the Benue River in days ahead”.

Flood overtakes Lagos communities, sacks residents

Meanwhile, another heavy downpour led to flood overtaking communities and sacking residents in Lagos.

The flood also submerged houses, cars, and other valuables.

Source: Legit.ng