Sharjah 24 – AFP: Libya's flood disaster, which killed thousands in the city of Derna, also displaced more than 43,000 people, the International Organisation for Migration said Thursday.
A tsunami-sized flash flood broke through two ageing river dams upstream from the coastal city after the Mediterranean Storm Daniel lashed the area on September 10.
It razed entire neighbourhoods, sweeping untold thousands of people into the sea.
The official death toll stands at more than 3,300 -- but the eventual count is expected to be far higher, with international aid groups giving estimates of up to 10,000 people missing.
"An estimated 43,059 individuals have been displaced by the floods in northeastern Libya," the IOM said, adding that a "lack of water supply is reportedly driving many displaced out of Derna" to other areas.
"Urgent needs include food, drinking water and mental health and psychosocial support," it said.
Mobile and internet services were meanwhile restored after a two-day disruption, following protests Monday that saw angry residents blame the authorities for the high death toll.
The dams that were overwhelmed by the torrential rains of September 10 had developed cracks as far back as the 1990s, Libya's top prosecutor has said, as residents accused authorities of negligence.
Much of Libya's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair in the chaos since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed Moamer Kadhafi.
The United Nations warned this week that disease outbreaks could bring "a second devastating crisis" to the flood-hit areas.
Local officials, aid agencies and the World Health Organisation "are concerned about the risk of disease outbreak, particularly from contaminated water and the lack of sanitation", the UN said.
Libya's disease control centre has warned that mains water in the disaster zone is polluted and urged residents not to use it.
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