Following the significant earthquake that struck Morocco over the weekend, Libya is currently experiencing significant losses and destruction as a result of a natural occurrence.
The storm known as Daniel, which had released some of its energy into the sea in the latter days of last week, is presently affecting North Africa. It has slammed the region between Benghazi and El Bayda.
The Libyan National Meteorological Center noted winds that were almost 180 km/h and rainfall that ranged from 50 to 250 mm.
Daniel focused his destructive might on Derna, the regional capital city of more than 50,000 people, midway between Tobruch and Benghazi. The wrath of the Wadi Derna, the torrential watercourse that cuts through the city, washed away the historic district and many residential districts of what had been a province of the Kingdom in 1939, during the Italian occupation.
Local reports stated that the collapse of two reservoirs upstream of the wadi, from which over 33 million cubic meters of water spilled downstream, exacerbated the effects of the torrential downpour, drowning the city to a depth of over three meters.
According to Osama Hamad, temporary prime minister of the Benghazi-based Government of National Stability, the local situation is dire. More than 2000 casualties are known. The Ministry of Health mentions 6,000 missing people already. Minister Othman Abdul Jalil mentioned the several locations where bodies are still lying. of homestrapped family who had victims under the debris. Many of the missing would have been pulled towards the direction of the ocean.
The sending of help has already been assured by Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and Qatar in an environment where there is often difficulties travelling throughout the area.
The Farnesina is deciding what kind of help to quickly deliver to the people of Libya, Antonio Tajani said through social media. Even France, which has long had a strong presence in the area, has signaled that it is prepared to deploy resources for the crisis.