150 dead as 'catastrophic' storm floods hit east Libya

DERNA - At least 150 people were killed when freak floods hit eastern Libya after storm Daniel swept the Mediterranean, lashing Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece.

Images filmed by residents of the Libyan disaster area showed massive mudslides, collapsed buildings and entire neighbourhoods submerged under muddy water.

Speaking on Libyan network Almasar, Oussama Hamad, prime minister of the east-based government, reported "more than 2,000 dead and thousands missing" in the city of Derna alone, but no medical sources or emergency services have confirmed such figures.

While media outlets in eastern Libya have largely picked up on Hamad's remarks, separate tolls reported from various areas add up to far lower figures.

Mohamed Massoud, a spokesman for Hamad's Benghazi-based administration, said earlier that "at least 150 people were killed as a result of flooding and torrential rains left by storm Daniel in Derna, Jabal al-Akhdar region and the suburbs of Al-Marj".

"This is besides the massive material damage that struck public and private properties," he told AFP.

Hundreds of residents were still believed to be trapped in difficult-to-reach areas as rescuers, backed by the army, were trying to come to their aid.

East Libyan authorities had "lost contact with nine soldiers during rescue operations", Massoud said.

He said Hamad and the head of a rescue committee as well as other ministers had travelled to Derna to evaluate the extent of the damage.

Experts have described storm Daniel -- which killed at least 27 people when it struck parts of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria in recent days -- as "extreme in terms of the amount of water falling in a space of 24 hours".

A Derna city council official described the situation in the city as "catastrophic" and in need of "national and international intervention", speaking to the local TV channel Libya al-Ahrar.

He reported the collapse of four main bridges, two buildings and two dams in Derna, a city of 100,000 people that lies in a river wadi 900 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli.

Footage broadcast by media outlets showed a massive flood washing through the city, damaging buildings in its path.

In a statement on Facebook, Presidential Council chief Mohamed al-Manfi called for "help from brotherly and friendly countries and international organisations".

Manfi officially declared Derna, Shahat and Al-Bayda a "disaster zone".