UN envoy stresses coordinated recovery efforts in floods-hit Libya

The special representative of the UN secretary-general for Libya on Sunday stressed the importance of swift, coordinated and united efforts to recover from the floods that hit eastern Libya last week.

Abdoulaye Bathily made the remarks in a meeting with President of the Libyan Presidency Council Mohamed Menfi in the capital Tripoli, during which he expressed condolences on behalf of the UN after deadly floods swept the city of Derna and other areas.

The UN envoy said he emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in the use of resources during the recovery and reconstruction process, and proposed the establishment of an inclusive mechanism to oversee the recovery efforts. 

Bathily also underlined the urgency for Libya to have unified and legitimate institutions to respond effectively to all challenges facing the country.

Health minister of Libya’s eastern-based government announced on Sunday that services had resumed in six hospitals in the city of Derna, a week after deadly floods hit eastern parts of the country.

“The Crisis and Emergency Committee reactivated six hospitals in the city of Derna for surgeries and they are now using modern equipment,” Othman Abdul Jalil told a press conference in the city that was hit hardest by the floods.

The official said local residents, rescuers and volunteers in Derna have been vaccinated to prevent the spread of diseases, and a committee has been set up to provide psychological support for flood survivors in the city, which is located some 1,300 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli.

On September 10, the Mediterranean storm Daniel triggered the worst floods in Libya in decades, which have so far claimed at least 5,500 lives and left another 10,000 people missing, according to official statistics.

Oil-rich Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west after the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.