World Meteorological Organization said many deaths could have been avoided if early warning and emergency management systems had functioned properly in Libya. Photo: TRT/AP
The United Nations is urgently seeking more than $71 million to assist those most in need after deadly flash floods swept Libya.
Storm Daniel slammed into Libya on September 10, killing 11,300 people, according to the Libyan Red Crescent.
In a flash appeal on Thursday, the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said it expects the toll to rise.
The city of Derna, one of the hardest-hit locations, was reduced to a wasteland after two upstream dams burst on Sunday.
TRT news reported that the entire seaside town of Sousse, remains submerged.
OCHA said estimates suggest 30 percent of the city may have disappeared and with most roads collapsed.
Calling the situation “catastrophic”, OCHA said its humanitarian partners need $71.4 million to respond to the “most urgent needs of 250,000 people targeted out of the 884,000 people estimated to be in need”.
On Wednesday, UN OCHA head Martin Griffiths had announced an immediate emergency fund of $10 million.
Writing by Abdullahi Lamino