CAIRO, September. 14 /TASS/. The number of victims of heavy rains and floods that hit the northeastern regions of Libya has exceeded 11,000, according to the Libyan Red Crescent.
"The death toll from the natural disaster in northeastern Libya has exceeded 11,000, with about 20,000 people still missing," the organization said in a statement quoted by the Al Arabiya TV channel.
Earlier, it was reported that about 8,000 people have been killed as a result of floods and heavy rains in this part of Libya.
According to the Red Crescent, at least 2,000 bodies have been swept into the Mediterranean Sea by the floods. In addition, the organization fears that the heavy rains have washed many unexploded ordnance and mines out of the ground and onto the coast, posing an additional danger to residents of the northeastern regions as well as to rescue teams searching for bodies of the dead under the rubble of collapsed houses and in coastal waters.
Cyclone Daniel struck northeastern Libya on September 10, bringing gale-force winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms to cities along the Mediterranean coast. Many homes, hospitals and other critical civilian facilities were flooded. The city of Derna was hardest hit. Two dams near the city were destroyed, causing many casualties. Some time ago, the head of the Derna municipality said that "the city authorities expect the death toll from the disaster to rise to 20,000."