What happened and what is the current situation in the flooded areas?

Last Sunday, Libya experienced its heaviest rainfalls in 40 years. After causing death and destruction in Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey, Storm Daniel in the Mediterranean left a trail of devastation in north-eastern Libya in particular. It is still not clear how many people were killed in the flooding, as many areas are still cut off from the outside world. There is no doubt, however, that the storm has had a devastating impact on people’s lives. In the port city of Derna alone, which was hit hardest by the disaster, it is feared that some 20,000 people have been killed. Over 30,000 people have lost their homes and thousands are still missing.

Support for the people in Libya: the first relief supplies are on the way to Libya

We are working at full speed to ensure that our aid for the people in Libya arrives as quickly as possible in the disaster zone. Libya has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and requested support. With funding from the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief is providing 27 tonnes of relief supplies such as tents, blankets, mattresses, camp beds, water filters and generators. The Bundeswehr is transporting the aid to the disaster zone, with two military aircraft delivering the relief supplies to north-eastern Libya. The German Red Cross is working with the Libyan Red Crescent to organise further support, where needed. Other EU partners, such as France, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Finland, are already providing help.

The United Nations has taken on the task of international coordination on the ground to ensure that aid arrives where it is most urgently needed and has provided over nine million euro in emergency aid via the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, a quarter of which is funded by Germany.