Flooding death toll soars to 11,300 in Libya's coastal city of Derna, aid group says

Marie el-Drese, the aid group's secretary-general, told The Associated Press by phone that a further 10,100 people are reported missing in the Mediterranean city. Health authorities previously put the death toll in Derna at 5,500. The storm also killed about 170 people elsewhere in the country.

The flooding swept away entire families in Derna on Sunday night and exposed vulnerabilities in the oil-rich country mired in conflict since a 2011 uprising that toppled long-ruling dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Here's a look at where things stand:

Daniel, an unusually strong Mediterranean storm, caused deadly flooding in communities across eastern Libya, but the worst hit was Derna. As the storm pounded the coast Sunday night, residents said they heard loud explosions when two dams outside the city collapsed. Floodwaters gushed down Wadi Derna, a valley that cuts through the city, crashing through buildings and washing people out to sea.

A UN official said Thursday that most casualties could have been avoided.

“If there would have been a normal operating meteorological service, they could have issued the warnings," World Meteorological Organization head Petteri Taalas told reporters in Geneva. "The emergency management authorities would have been able to evacuate.”

The WMO said earlier this week that the National Meteorological Center issued warnings 72 hours before the flooding, notifying all governmental authorities by email and through media.

Officials in eastern Libya warned the public about the coming storm, and on Saturday, they ordered residents to evacuate coastal areas, fearing a surge from the sea. But there was no warning about the dams collapsing.

The startling devastation reflected the storm’s intensity, but also Libya’s