Current:Home > StocksAP PHOTOS: Satellite images show flood devastation that killed more than 11,000 in Libya-VaTradeCoin
AP PHOTOS: Satellite images show flood devastation that killed more than 11,000 in Libya
View Date:2025-01-08 16:03:30
DERNA, Libya (AP) — Images taken by satellite show the physical devastation from a flood that killed at least 11,300 people in the eastern Libyan city of Derna.
Two dams above Derna burst early Monday under the pressure from rain dropped by a storm. The pent-up water swept blocks of low-lying downtown Derna out to the Mediterranean Sea.
Many said they heard loud explosions as the dams exploded. A flood several meters (many feet) high rolled down a mountainside into the city.
Images made about 400 miles above the earth’s surface show that the storm left a brown layer of mud and dirt across the city.
Untold numbers are buried under mud and debris that includes overturned cars and chunks of concrete. The death toll soared to 11,300 as search efforts continue, Marie el-Drese, secretary-general of the Libyan Red Crescent, told The Associated Press by phone Thursday.
She said that an additional 10,100 had been reported missing. Health authorities previously put the death toll in Derna at 5,500.
The satellite pictures show dirt and debris stretching out to sea into Derna’s shallow waters, which appeared visibly brown near the shoreline. Many bodies washed out to sea have come back with the tide, rescue workers say.
The floods have displaced at least 30,000 people in Derna, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration, and several thousand others were forced to leave their homes in other eastern towns, it said.
Bridges and other basic infrastructure have also been wiped out, especially buildings near the Wadi Derna river.
Because of the damage to roads, aid only began trickling into the city on Tuesday evening.
veryGood! (247)
Related
- Kathy Bates likes 'not having breasts' after her cancer battle: 'They were like 10 pounds'
- Search for missing Titanic sub includes armada of specialized planes, underwater robots and sonar listening equipment
- An abortion doula explains the impact of North Carolina's expanded limitations
- Creating a sperm or egg from any cell? Reproduction revolution on the horizon
- Justice Department says jail conditions in Georgia’s Fulton County violate detainee rights
- Wildfires and Climate Change
- What we know about the tourist sub that disappeared on an expedition to the Titanic
- Victorian England met a South African choir with praise, paternalism and prejudice
- Why Cynthia Erivo Needed Prosthetic Ears for Wicked
- Tiger King star Doc Antle convicted of wildlife trafficking in Virginia
Ranking
- Chris Wallace will leave CNN 3 years after defecting from 'Fox News Sunday'
- Climate Tipping Points Are Closer Than We Think, Scientists Warn
- U.S. Regulators Reject Trump’s ‘Multi-Billion-Dollar Bailout’ for Coal Plants
- Priyanka Chopra Reflects on Dehumanizing Moment Director Requested to See Her Underwear on Set
- Waymo’s robotaxis now open to anyone who wants a driverless ride in Los Angeles
- Exxon Ramps Up Free Speech Argument in Fighting Climate Fraud Investigations
- Tesla’s Battery Power Could Provide Nevada a $100 Billion Jolt
- In the Battle Over the Senate, Both Parties’ Candidates Are Playing to the Middle on Climate Change
Recommendation
-
John Krasinski Revealed as People's Sexiest Man Alive 2024
-
Economy Would Gain Two Million New Jobs in Low-Carbon Transition, Study Says
-
For many, a 'natural death' may be preferable to enduring CPR
-
Elliot Page Grateful to Be Here and Alive After Transition Journey
-
Wendi McLendon-Covey talks NBC sitcom 'St. Denis Medical' and hospital humor
-
Sudanese doctors should not have to risk their own lives to save lives
-
Living Better: What it takes to get healthy in America
-
South Carolina Has No Overall Plan to Fight Climate Change