United Nations: One in ten deaths due to floods in Libya is a migrant outside

Before the floods, thousands of migrants were living in the badly damaged coastal city of Derna. The International Organization for Migration assumes that the death toll among migrants is so high because they usually settle in low-lying areas.

There are hundreds of thousands of migrants in Libya. Some live and work in the North African country for a long time, while others use it as a transit country to reach Europe.

According to both the International Maritime Organization and the World Health Organization, about 4,000 deaths had been identified and registered with death certificates by the end of last week. The government in stricken eastern Libya keeps the number of recorded deaths at 3,338. These numbers will change as more bodies are recovered. Estimates of the actual number of deaths from Storm Daniel range from 5,000 to 20,000.

The large number of victims caused great anger in Libya. Thousands of people took to the streets in Derna on Monday to protest against the authorities. They believe that the collapse of the two dams could have been prevented and that the government responded too slowly after the disaster. The anger is mainly directed at the mayor of Derna and Speaker of Parliament, Aguila Saleh.

A week ago, powerful storm Daniel hit Libya. Because of the huge amount of water falling from the sky, two dams collapsed and all the water flowed with great force into Derna. According to the authorities, at least a quarter of that city was swept away. The demonstrators are angry at the neglect of the dams for years. They want a quick investigation and legal action taken against those responsible.

Many Libyans also believe that the response to the effects of the floods has been too slow. Parliament did not meet until three days later to release the funds allocated for emergency aid. The demonstrators shout against the Speaker of Parliament, who believes that there is no preparation capable of confronting this natural disaster: “Aguila, we do not want you.” Libyans are also calling for unity in the civil war-torn country. “All Libyans are brothers.” The parliament is located in the east of the country, where the city of Derna is also located. In the West, there is a government that is considered internationally like the Libyan government.

Reports on the death toll in Derna have varied widely in recent days and are often updated. This also leads to great dissatisfaction among the population, as there seems to be no coordination at all between the various organizations working and the authorities in the West and the East. The World Health Organization has now confirmed at least 3,922 deaths. More than 10,000 people may still be missing.