A week after Libya floods, efforts to aid survivors gather pace
A week after massive flash floods devastated the Libyan coastal city of Derna, sweeping thousands to their deaths, the international aid effort to help survivors is slowly gathering pace.
Search-and-rescue teams wearing face masks and protective suits kept up the search for bodies or survivors on Sunday, combing a wasteland of smashed buildings, crushed cars and uprooted trees.
Traumatised residents, 30,000 of whom are now homeless in Derna alone, badly need clean water, food, shelter and basic supplies amid a growing risk of cholera, diarrhoea, dehydration and malnutrition, UN agencies warn.
Emergency response teams and aid have been deployed from France, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, with more on the way from other nations.
The aid effort has been hampered by the political division of Libya, which was thrown into chaos after the overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
The North African country now remains split between two rival governments – a UN-backed administration in the capital Tripoli, and another based in the east, where last week's disaster took place.
Thousands missing
The true death toll remains unknown, with untold numbers swept into the sea.
A week on from the disaster, bodies are still washing up on the sea shore, along with vast amounts of household items and debris.
"Bodies were stuck between rocks," he said.
Read more on RFI English
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