After fatal flash floods ripped over Libya over the weekend, the UN is urgently seeking more than $71 million to aid those who are in the greatest need.
Hurricane-strength On September 10, Storm Daniel hit Libya, killing at least 4,000 people and leaving thousands more missing.
The United Nations’ OCHA humanitarian office said it expects the death toll to grow in a quick appeal on Thursday.
Two upstream dams failed on Sunday, leaving the city of Derna, one of the worst-affected areas, to become a wasteland.
Estimates, according to OCHA, indicate that 30 percent of the city may have vanished. Because most of the city’s roads have collapsed, local officials are requesting the establishment of a sea corridor for relief efforts and evacuations.
In the meantime, the entire seaside town of Sousse is still underwater.
OCHA described the situation as “catastrophic” and stated that in order to meet the “most urgent needs of 250,000 people targeted out of the 884,000 people estimated to be in need,” its humanitarian partners require $71.4 million.
Martin Griffiths, the head of UN OCHA, had established a $10 million fund for immediate emergencies on Wednesday.
“Entire neighbourhoods have been wiped off the map. Whole families, taken by surprise, were swept away in the deluge of water,” he said in a statement.
“Getting lifesaving supplies to people, prevent a secondary health crisis, and swiftly restore some kind of normality must override any other concern at this difficult time for Libya.”
A number of other nations, including the United States, the European Union, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, have either provided or promised assistance, and foreign rescue teams have been brought in to look for survivors and collect bodies.
