The storm Daniel struck the eastern part of the country on Sunday, September 10th. The toll could be very heavy. Three days of national mourning were announced by an extraordinary council of ministers.
At least 2,000 people are reported to have died, as stated by Oussama Hamada, the interim Prime Minister of the eastern government, quoted by the AP agency. Additionally, more than 5,000 people are said to be missing, according to Issam Abu Zriba, the Minister of Interior for the eastern government, as reported by the same agency. However, no medical or rescue services source has confirmed this toll at this time.
The affected areas are primarily located “in the Jabal Al-Akhdar regions and the suburbs of Al-Marj,” in the northeast of Libya, near the border with Egypt, according to Mohammed Massoud, the spokesperson for the leader of the parallel executive based in Benghazi. Three days of national mourning were announced this Monday during an extraordinary council of ministers broadcasted live on television.
Described by experts as an “extreme phenomenon in terms of the amount of rainfall,” the storm named Daniel has also hit Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria in recent days, resulting in at least 27 deaths. It has also caused “significant damage to infrastructure and private properties,” added the Libyan spokesperson.
