Thousands reported missing in Libya as flooding strikes

About 700 people have died in the floods, the health minister for eastern Libya said on Tuesday after Mediterranean storm Daniel spawned flooding in the eastern part of the country.  Thousands of  other people remain missing, Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said at a UN  briefing. 

What made the storm so devastating? The storm made landfall in the country over the weekend. It caused two dams to burst upstream from the city of Derna, sweeping away entire neighborhoods and those living there. Residents posted videos to social media of flooding across the country.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Onize Ohikere’s explainer on Libya’s civil war.