Current:Home > MyAP PHOTOS: Satellite images show flood devastation that killed more than 11,000 in Libya -InvestTomorrow
AP PHOTOS: Satellite images show flood devastation that killed more than 11,000 in Libya
Ethermac View
Date:2025-04-09 00:44:55
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! (871)
Related
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Q&A: A Harvard Expert on Environment and Health Discusses Possible Ties Between COVID and Climate
- Putin calls armed rebellion by Wagner mercenary group a betrayal, vows to defend Russia
- Two New Studies Add Fuel to the Debate Over Methane
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- They tried and failed to get an abortion. Texas family grapples with what it'll mean
- Don’t Miss This $80 Deal on a $180 PowerXL 10-Quart Dual Basket Air Fryer
- Ohio man accused of killing his 3 sons indicted, could face death penalty
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Garland denies whistleblower claim that Justice Department interfered in Hunter Biden probe
Ranking
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- On Baffin Island in the Fragile Canadian Arctic, an Iron Ore Mine Spews Black Carbon
- What were the mysterious banging noises heard during the search for the missing Titanic sub?
- Half the World’s Sandy Beaches May Disappear by Century’s End, Climate Study Says
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Having an out-of-body experience? Blame this sausage-shaped piece of your brain
- In the Mountains and Deserts of Utah, Columbia Spotted Frogs Are Sentinels of Climate Change
- In a Race Against Global Warming, Robins Are Migrating Earlier
Recommendation
Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
First in the nation gender-affirming care ban struck down in Arkansas
Tourist subs aren't tightly regulated. Here's why.
Where Mama June Shannon Stands With Her Daughters After Family Tension
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
American Climate Video: Fighting a Fire That Wouldn’t Be Corralled
How Jessica Biel Helped the Cruel Summer Cast Capture the Show’s Y2K Setting
American Climate Video: Fighting a Fire That Wouldn’t Be Corralled