A UN spokesperson told the BBC drinking water wells had been contaminated and warned of a “secondary wave of disease and even death” in Libya if the problem is not tackled swiftly.
Topline
The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Derna, Libya, could reach as high as 20,000, city officials estimate, as international aid begins to arrive in the country and rescue teams plead for help recovering bodies amid growing fears of infectious disease outbreaks.Key Facts
Deaths in the flood-hit city of Derna could reach between 18,000 and 20,000 people, mayor Abdulmenam Al-Ghaithi told Saudi news station Al Arabiya TV on Wednesday.
Al-Ghaithi said the estimate is based on the number of districts destroyed in torrents of water unleashed from two dams that collapsed upstream during the heavy rains of Storm Daniel.
