BENGHAZI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Authorities in eastern Libya said at least 2,000 people were killed and thousands more were missing after a massive flood ripped through the city of Derna following a heavy storm and rain.
Ahmed Mismari, the spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA) that controls eastern Libya, said in a televised news conference that the disaster came after dams above Derna had collapsed, “sweeping whole neighbourhoods with their residents into the sea”.
Storm Daniel swept in over the Mediterranean on Sunday, swamping roads and destroying buildings in Derna, and hitting other settlements along the coast, including Libya’s second biggest city of Benghazi.
Photographs of Derna, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed a wide torrent running through the city centre where a far narrower waterway had previously flowed.
Footage on social media and broadcast by eastern Libya’s Almostkbal TV showed people stranded on the roofs of their vehicles calling for help and waters washing away cars.
In Tripoli, the interim government directed all state agencies to “immediately deal” with the damage and floods in eastern cities, but his administration has no sway in the east.
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