Tripoli: The death toll from the eastern Libya floods has risen to 5,500, with another 7,000 injured, an official said.
No final death toll could be determined yet because bodies are still being recovered from the affected areas, Osama Ali, the spokesman for the Tripoli-based emergency services, said on Wednesday.
The disaster struck the Libyan city of Derna following heavy storms and rainfall. The Libyan National Army (LNA), which controls eastern Libya, reported the disaster after dams above Derna collapsed, causing extensive damage and sweeping entire neighbourhoods into the sea.
About 10,000 people have been reported missing and over 30,000 people have been displaced by the floods, adding the flood-hit regions face a severe shortage of basic supplies.
Meanwhile, Derna Mayor Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi said that the estimated number of deaths in the city could reach between 18,000 to 20,000 based on the number of districts destroyed by the flood.
Several countries including the US, Germany, Iran, Italy, Qatar, and Turkey, have either sent aid or expressed readiness to provide assistance.