Nature’s devastating blows against two North African countries

Pope Francis recalled today, at the end of Wednesday’s general audience, the “severely punished” peoples of Libya and Morocco, after the recent floods and earthquakes which shook these South African countries. North and caused thousands of deaths and injuries.

“My thoughts are with the Libyan people, hard hit by the violent rains which caused flooding and overflows, causing many deaths and injuries, as well as significant damage,” he said of the passage of the cyclone Daniel in this North African country. with more than 6,000 dead and 9,000 missing in the town of Derna alone.

Immediately afterwards, Francis also wanted to send a message of encouragement “to the noble Moroccan people who suffered this earthquake”, which has so far left nearly 3,000 dead and more than 5,500 injured. “Let us pray for Morocco, let us pray for its inhabitants so that the Lord gives them the strength to recover after this terrible ‘ambush’ that they suffered,” he declared.

Nature seems to have wreaked havoc in these North African countries. The death toll from floods in the eastern Libyan town of Derna passed 6,000 on Wednesday and is expected to continue to rise, a health official said, as authorities try to provide relief. aid to the coastal town where thousands are still missing and dozens have been killed. thousands of people were left homeless.

Aid workers who managed to reach the town, cut off on Sunday when flash floods destroyed most access roads, described scenes of devastation in the town center, where search and rescue teams searched for collapsed apartment buildings, searching for bodies and recovering floating corpses. in the sea.

“The bodies are everywhere: inside the houses, in the streets, in the sea. Everywhere you go you find dead men, women and children,” said Emad al-Falah, an aid worker from Benghazi, by telephone from Derna. “Entire families were lost,” he told The Associated Press.

Mediterranean Storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many eastern cities, although Derna was the worst hit. As the storm hit the coast Sunday evening, residents of Derna reported hearing loud explosions as dams outside the town collapsed. Waters overflowed from Wadi Derna, a river that flows down from the mountains and through the city until reaching the sea.

“The town of Derna was submerged by 7 meter high waves which destroyed everything in their path,” Yann Fridez, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Libya, told France24. “The human losses are enormous. »

At least 5,100 people were killed in Derna, and around 100 elsewhere in the region, Ossama Ali, spokesperson for the Eastern Libya Ambulance and Emergency Center, said on Wednesday. There were more than 7,000 injured, most of whom were treated in field hospitals set up by authorities and aid agencies, he told The Associated Press by telephone.

The death toll is likely to rise in the coastal city, Ali said, as rescue teams continue to recover bodies from streets, buildings and the sea.

The extent of the damage appears even worse than authorities had initially anticipated. “The sea is constantly throwing up dozens of bodies,” said Hichem Abu Chkiouat, minister of civil aviation in the administration that rules eastern Libya, adding that reconstruction would cost billions of dollars, he said. he told the Guardian.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said on Wednesday that at least 30,000 people had been displaced in Derna, the city worst hit by Storm Daniel. Ten thousand people were reported missing by official aid agencies such as the Libyan Red Crescent, but the highest estimate of 20,000 dead came from the director of al-Bayda Medical Center, Abdul Rahim Maziq.

Meanwhile, the number of dead and injured following Morocco’s devastating September 8 earthquake is steadily rising as rescuers reach the most remote villages, dig up bodies and send the injured to hospitals. The official death toll was 2,901 on Tuesday, most of them in mountain towns and villages. The United Nations estimates that the 6.8 magnitude quake affected 300,000 people in Marrakech and the High Atlas region.

The earthquake, with its epicenter in the Atlas Mountains, injured at least 5,500 more people. On Tuesday, more than 240 injured people were being treated in hospitals in the Marrakech region.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Tuesday showed solidarity with his country after the strong earthquake, and visited some injured in a hospital not far from the epicenter, where he also donated blood.

The monarch inspected the hospital that bears his name in the city of Marrakech, where he inquired about the recovery services and care provided to those injured in Friday evening’s earthquake and the condition of the survivors, the monarch said. official MAP agency.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), some 100,000 children were affected by the earthquake that shook central Morocco. The organization has not yet been able to verify how many children may have lost their lives, but recalled that in 2022, it was estimated that children would represent almost a third of the total population.

The agency has already mobilized humanitarian personnel to support the immediate response, but recalled that beyond the short term, other needs are being felt. As a result, many families find themselves homeless at a time of year when temperatures are already beginning to drop significantly at night. In addition, facilities such as schools and hospitals were also damaged, causing collateral effects on children, according to UNICEF.

The earthquake also damaged part of the walls surrounding the old town of Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the 12th century. Videos showed dust billowing from parts of the Koutoubia Mosque, one of Marrakech’s best-known historic sites. One of the monarch’s royal palaces is also in the city.