On Thursday, reliable sources revealed that the International Red Cross (IRC), in collaboration with the Emergency Committee, has decided to evacuate the Libyan city of Derna due to the hazards associated with decomposing bodies.
The decomposition has resulted in the release of foul odours, heightening concerns over potential disease outbreaks.
These revelations suggest a growing number of evacuees leaving the city, emphasising the need for consolidated support measures for the affected individuals.
At least 11,300 are now believed to have died, after torrents of water ripped through eastern Libya — a devastating toll that could largely have been avoided, global officials said Thursday.
Marie Al-Drese, Secretary-General of the Libyan Red Crescent, revealed that a further 10,100 had been reported missing in the ruined city. Earlier, city officials said the death toll could reach 20,000.
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.
As rescuers searched underwater and under rubble, fears grew that rotting bodies could lead to a deadly outbreak of diseases in the wake of this week’s floods.
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.
More than 7,000 residents were wounded in the disaster, ambulance service Spokesman, Osama Ali told NBC News.
Numbers have varied depending on various officials, though all put the toll well into the thousands. Derna’s Mayor, Abdel Moneim Al-Ghaithi has said that it could more than triple, as search teams and survivors find more bodies in the ruins.
“The situation is very large and surprising for the city of Derna. We were not able to confront it with our capabilities that preceded the storm and the torrent,” Al-Ghaithi told Sky News Arabia on Wednesday night.
Fears are rising of waterborne diseases affecting the area, especially with rotting bodies still washing ashore. “Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities will be required to prevent a further crisis within a crisis,” Elie Abouaoun, Country Director for Libya at the IRC, said in a statement Wednesday.
Around 30,000 people from Derna remain displaced, according to the IOM.