Libya floods: More than 2,000 bodies recovered, over 30,000 displaced

Volunteers carrying a body bag during search operations

Rescuers have found more than 2,000 bodies as of Wednesday in the wreckage of a Libyan city where floodwaters broke dams and washed away neighborhoods. Officials fear the death toll could exceed 5,000 in the nation made vulnerable by years of turmoil and neglect.

The flooding caused significant infrastructure damage in the coastal city of Derna and displaced at least 30,000 people, the UN migration agency said. The damage is so extensive that the city is almost inaccessible for humanitarian aid workers, the International Organisation for Migration said.

Satellite images show the city of Derna before and the floods and after

Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many eastern towns, but the worst-hit was Derna. As the storm pounded the coast Sunday night, residents said they heard loud explosions when the dams outside the city collapsed. Floodwaters washed down Wadi Derna, a river running from the mountains through the city and into the sea.

A general view of the devastation in Derna, which officials say was hit the worst. Pics/AP

More than 2,000 corpses were collected as of Wednesday morning and over half of them had been buried in mass graves in Derna, said eastern Libya's health minister, Othman Abduljaleel. Rescue teams were working day and night to recover many other bodies scattered in the streets and under the rubble. Some bodies were retrieved from the sea.

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