Egypt Follows Situation of Egyptians Affected by Storm Daniel in Libya

Egypt's Foreign Ministry is actively tracking the repercussions of Storm Daniel that has battered numerous Libyan cities and regions, leading to several casualties and missing individuals among the Egyptian community there.

In light of the crisis, an emergency hotline has been set up to bridge the communication between the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and its consulate in Benghazi. This consulate is working in tandem with Libyan officials to gauge the evolving situation of Egyptians in the affected zones, oversee rescue and search operations, and collate data regarding the casualties.

Their task is made even more challenging due to widespread communication outages and major road damage.

The Ministry expresses its profound sorrow over the tragic event, offering sincere condolences to the bereaved families, while emphasizing that their efforts to aid those affected will remain relentless. 

At least 2,000 people have died and 10,000 are believed missing after Storm Daniel dumped so much rain on Libya’s northeast that two dams collapsed sending water flowing into already inundated areas.

Of those who were killed, at least 145 were Egyptian, officials in the northeastern city of Tobruk, in Libya, said on Tuesday.

In the eastern city of Derna, which has seen the worst of the devastation, as many as 6,000 people are missing, Othman Abduljalil, health minister in Libya’s eastern administration, told Libya’s Almasar TV. He called the situation “catastrophic,” when he toured the city on Monday.

Whole neighborhoods are believed to have been washed away in the city, according to authorities.