Mayor in Libya estimates that 20,000 may have died in the flood – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country

Pictures from the city of Derna, which before the storm “Daniel” had just under 100,000 inhabitants, bear witness to catastrophic natural forces. Whole neighborhoods are wiped out. Muddy streets, overturned cars and buildings in ruins remain. The mayor of the city, Abdulmenam Al-Ghaithi, estimates that 20,000 people may have died. He bases the estimate on how many neighborhoods have been completely wiped out. Satellite images show the violent destruction in Derna. Photo: AP A “ghost town” The storm hit the eastern part of the country hard on Sunday. The cities of Benghazi, Sousse, Al Bayda, Al-Marj and Derna were particularly exposed to the violent destruction. At the coastal town of Derna, two dams collapsed and created a mercilessly large flood. Police chief in the city, Ahmed Madroud, says the way Derna was built, meant that many people lived where the water masses made their way. Rescue workers carry a dead person out of a building in Derna on Wednesday. Photo: AHMED ELUMAMI / Reuters Around 9,000 people are still registered as missing in the country. Spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, Tarek al-Kharraz, says that the death toll has now reached 5,200. This has so far not been confirmed from other sources. 30,000 people will also be homeless in the city. The country’s health minister Othman Abduljalil calls Derna a “ghost town”. – The death toll is already very high, but we still expect it to rise further, says Tamer Ramadan in Røde Halvmåne. Buried in mass graves Over 3,000 people have all been buried by the authorities, says a spokesperson for the government in the east. Interior Ministry spokesman Tarek al-Kharraz says that 1,100 of the flood’s victims have not allowed themselves to be identified and that these have been buried in mass graves. Three Red Crescent workers walk across a street in one of the affected areas in Derna. Photo: ESAM OMRAN AL-FETORI / Reuters On Tuesday, 2,090 others were buried in the country, but these had been identified, according to the ministry. – This is particularly difficult, given that local people bury their own dead without registering them, Al Kharraz told the DPA news agency.



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