Rescuers recover over 2,000 bodies after floods devastate eastern Libya and displace 30,000 people

BY SAMY MAGDY AND YOUSEF MURAD

Rescuers have found more than 2,000 bodies as of Wednesday in the wreckage of a Libyan city where flood waters 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 U.N. migration agency said. The damage is so extensive the city is almost inaccessible for humanitarian aid workers, the International Organization for Migration said.

Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many eastern towns, but the worst-hit was Derna. As the storm pounded the coast Sunday night, Derna 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.

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