Current:Home > ScamsAP PHOTOS: Satellite images show flood devastation that killed more than 11,000 in Libya -VanguardEdge
AP PHOTOS: Satellite images show flood devastation that killed more than 11,000 in Libya
View
Date:2025-04-17 01:13:05
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! (4768)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Horoscopes Today, November 19, 2023
- China welcomes Arab and Muslim foreign ministers for talks on ending the war in Gaza
- US Defense Secretary Austin makes unannounced visit to Ukraine
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- A timeline of key moments from former first lady Rosalynn Carter’s 96 years
- Test flight for SpaceX's massive Starship rocket reaches space, explodes again
- Notable quotes from former first lady Rosalynn Carter
- Tropical weather brings record rainfall. Experts share how to stay safe in floods.
- With the world’s eyes on Gaza, attacks are on the rise in the West Bank, which faces its own war
Ranking
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Paul Azinger won't return as NBC Sports' lead golf analyst in 2024
- Jordan Travis' injury sinks Florida State's season, creates College Football Playoff chaos
- His wife was hit by a falling tree. Along with grief came anger, bewilderment.
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Methodist Church approves split of 261 Georgia congregations after LGBTQ+ divide
- Horoscopes Today, November 18, 2023
- Hong Kong’s Disneyland opens 1st Frozen-themed attraction, part of a $60B global expansion
Recommendation
Big Lots store closures could exceed 300 nationwide, discount chain reveals in filing
Blocked from a horizontal route, rescuers will dig vertically to reach 41 trapped in India tunnel
FDA warns against eating recalled cantaloupe over salmonella risk
32 people killed during reported attacks in a disputed region of Africa
Boy who wandered away from his 5th birthday party found dead in canal, police say
DC combating car thefts and carjackings with dashcams and AirTags
NFL playoff picture: Browns, Cowboys both rise after Week 11
Mixed results for SpaceX's Super Heavy-Starship rocket on 2nd test flight