The United Nations (UN) is urgently pursuing more than $71 million to assist those most in necessity after lethal flash floods flowed Libya over the weekend.
Storm Daniel, the deadly flood, hit Libya on September 10, causing the lives of at least 4,000 people, with thousands more still disappearing.
In an urgent appeal on Thursday, the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said it predicts the death toll to increase. The city of Derna, one of the hardest-impact areas, was decreased to barrens after two upstream dams erupted on Sunday.
OCHA said estimations indicate 30 percent of the city may have vanished and with most roads collapsed local authorities are contacting for a sea corridor to be built for relief and evacuations.
Meanwhile, the whole seaside town of Sousse remains submerged.
Calling the condition “catastrophic”, OCHA said its humanitarian members require $71.4 million to respond to the “most critical needs of 250,000 people targeted out of the 884,000 people evaluated to be in need”.
UN OCHA head Martin Griffiths announced on Wednesday an immediate emergency fund of $10 million.
In a statement, he said, “Whole neighborhoods have been wiped off the map. Entire families, taken by surprise, were swept away in the surge of water.”
“Obtaining lifesaving supplies to people, controlling a secondary health problem, and swiftly reviving some sort of normality must override any other circumstance at this challenging time for Libya.”
The United States, European Union, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and several other nations have also already sent or vowed assistance, while foreign rescue teams have been deployed to search for survivors and recover bodies.
