Libya: Floods Damage 70% Of Infrastructure in Affected Areas

Libya's Government of National Unity informed on Monday that 70 percent of infrastructure and 95 percent of educational institutions were damaged in the flood-affected areas in eastern Libya.

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According to Hüseyin Süveydan, head of the Emergency Service of the Roads and Bridges Administration of the Ministry of Transport, 11 bridges were defeated, 6 in Derna and 5 in the eastern cities.

Fifty percent of roads were also damaged while 80 percent of the subway water pipes were destroyed, Süveydan reported. 

The official added that the Road and Bridge Administration completed all works to obtain alternative routes in all regions impacted by the floods in the east of the country.

The Minister of Education of the Government of National Unity of Libya, Musa Mugaryif said in a press conference in the capital, Tripoli, that 95 percent of the educational institutions in the areas affected by the floods were damaged. 

Schools will reopen as of Sunday September 24, the minister said noting that students in the flooded area will continue their education in 17 schools in Benghazi.

The Ministry of Education reported that 114 schools were damaged by flooding in 15 cities and towns in eastern Libya.

Mediterranean storm Daniel hit eastern Libya on September 10 and caused the country's worst flooding in decades, affecting the cities of Benghazi, Beyda, Marj, Suse and Derna. Official figures indicate that it claimed the lives of at least 5,500 people and left some 10,000 missing.

Protest against authorities

A week after floods that killed thousands and destroyed entire neighbourhoods in the North African country, hundreds of people protested incity of Derna on Tuesday.

Demonstrators crowded into the square in front of Derna’s landmark gold-domed Sahaba mosque chanting slogans. In the evening, some protesters set fire to the house of the man who was Derna mayor at the time of the flood, Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi.

According to the administration in charge in eastern Libya, it has suspended the mayor and dismissed all the members of Derna's municipal council. 

A week after the disaster, large areas of Derna remain muddy ruins and families are still searching for missing bodies in the rubble. The total death toll is expected to rise as thousands of people are still missing.