Aid teams are battling to help survivors and locate the dead five days after devastating flooding hit eastern Libya
Thousands of people were killed when two dams burst after intense rainfall from Storm Daniel, washing away whole neighbourhoods in the city of Derna.
Figures for the number of dead vary from around 6,000 to 11,000 and with thousands still listed as missing, the port city’s mayor says the total could reach 20,000
Survivors have told the BBC whole families perished together, as well as describing terrifying escapes and people being swept away in front of their eyes.
Most of the deaths could have been avoided if warnings were issued, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization says.
About 30,000 people have been left homeless, the International Organization for Migration says, with the UN’s humanitarian agency warning of the danger of disease from contaminated water
Nasir Almnsori, an engineer living in the city more than 150km from Derna, told BBC Breakfast that flood victims were washing up nearby.
Some of Almnsori’s family died in Derna, and the three that survived have made the journey to Tobruk to stay with relatives.
He says with so much of the city destroyed, there is nothing left for them in Derna.
“They have no houses there to live in, so that is why they moved to my city,” he said.
BBC / Titilayo Kupoliyi
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