Up to 20,000 people are now feared dead after torrents of water ripped through eastern Libya — a devastating toll that could largely have been avoided, global officials said Thursday.
As rescuers in the ruined city of Derna searched underwater and under rubble, fears grew that rotting bodies could lead to a deadly outbreak of disease in the wake of this week’s floods.
A precise tally of the rising number of people killed is incredibly difficult given the level of destruction and the chaotic political situation in the region, with bodies still washing up on the shore and burials being held in mass graves.
A deluge of rainfall from Mediterranean storm Daniel caused two dams to collapse, sending waves more than 20 feet high through the heart of Derna, a port city in the country’s east.
The current confirmed number of dead is 5,300, with another 10,000 missing and more than 7,000 wounded, ambulance service spokesman Osama Ali told NBC News.
Numbers have varied depending on which official has provided them, though all put the toll well into the thousands and Derna’s mayor has said that it could more than triple as search teams and survivors find more bodies in the ruins.
The death toll could ultimately reach 20,000 — around a fifth of the city’s population — based on estimates of those living in areas that were swept away.