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The International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed on September 19 that about 400 migrants died in the recent flood disaster in Libya.
IOM cited a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) saying that hospitals have so far recorded 4,000 deaths due to flooding in Libya, including about 400 migrants.
Earlier, IOM reported that more than 100,000 migrants were living in flooded areas, including more than 8,000 in the city of Derma. These people were mainly from Chad, Egypt and Sudan.
Thousands of people from Africa and the Middle East are living in Libya, many of whom make the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to Europe every year to escape poverty and conflict.
The flash floods occurred as Libya, a war-torn North African nation, was hit by a powerful storm called Daniel on September 10. Rapidly rising waters broke two dams upstream in the eastern coastal city of Derna. Water poured out overnight, crashing into the city center of 100,000 people and sweeping entire neighborhoods into the Mediterranean.
UN agencies have warned that flood-affected residents - 30,000 of whom are homeless - are in dire need of clean water, food and basic necessities amid rising risks of cholera, diarrhoea, dehydration and malnutrition.
According to Tin Tuc newspaper