Libyan Prime Minister: 2,000 People Believed Dead in Flooding

CAIRO (AP) — At least 27 people were reported dead Monday in flooding in eastern Libya, but one of the country`s leaders said as many as 2,000 or more are feared dead after Mediterranean storm Daniel caused devastating floods over the weekend in the North African nation.

In a phone interview with al-Masar television station Monday, Prime Minister Ossama Hamad of the east Libyan government said that 2,000 were feared dead in the eastern city of Derna, and thousands of others are reported missing. He said the floods have swept away entire neighborhoods in Derna, which has been declared a disaster zone.

Othman Abduljaleel, the health minister of the east Libya government, announced a death toll earlier Monday of 27 in a telephone interview on the Saudi-owned satellite news channel Al-Arabiya. Abduljaleel said the tally didn’t include the city of Derna, where the situation was less clear as of Monday afternoon.

The dead reported by Abduljaleel included 12 people in the eastern town of Bayda, the town’s main medical center said. Another seven people were reported dead in the coastal town of Susa in northeastern Libya, according to the Ambulance and Emergency Authority. Seven others were reported dead in the towns of Shahatt and Omar al-Mokhtar, the minister said.

One other person was confirmed dead Sunday. The man was stuck in his car and surrounded by floods in the eastern town of Marj, according to Walid al-Arfi, spokesperson for the government-run emergency response agency in eastern Libya.

The Libyan Red Crescent said it lost contact with one of its workers as he attempted to help a stuck family in Bayda. Dozens of others were reported missing, and authorities fear they could have died in the floods that destroyed homes and other properties in several towns in eastern Libya, according to local media.

Derna, which was the worst hit, has become inaccessible and local media reported that the situation there was catastrophic with no electricity or communications.

Over the weekend, Libyans shared footage on social media showing flooded houses and roads in many areas across eastern Libya. They pleaded for help as floods besieged people inside their homes and in their vehicles.

The prime minister announced Monday a three-day of mourning and ordered flags across the country to be lowered to half-mast.

Controlling eastern and western Libya, Cmdr. Khalifa Hifter deployed troops to help residents in Benghazi and other eastern towns. Ahmed al-Mosmari, a spokesperson for Hifter’s forces, said they lost contact with five troops who were helping besieged families in Bayda.

Libya, a country with over 6 million people, suffers from debilitating infrastructure after more than a decade of conflict. The Mediterranean nation has plunged into chaos since a NATO-supported uprising in 2011 toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi who was later killed.

The oil-rich country has been divided for most of the past decade between rival administrations in the east and west. Each administration is backed by armed groups and militias, and foreign governments.

Storm Danial is expected to arrive in parts of west Egypt on Monday, and the country’s meteorological authorities warned about possible rain and bad weather.