The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it had sent a plane carrying about 29 tonnes of medical supplies to Benghazi, Libya, to help the victims of the devastating floods caused by Storm Daniel. The medical supplies include essential medicines, trauma and emergency surgery supplies, and medical equipment, which can cover the health needs of some 250,000 people.
The WHO said that this was the second batch of aid it had delivered to Libya, following an initial shipment of 29 tonnes of emergency medical supplies from its warehouses in the country. The WHO said that it was working closely with the Libyan Ministry of Health and the National Center for Disease Control to identify and respond to the health needs of the survivors and the affected populations in temporary shelters and displacement camps.
The WHO also expressed its concern about the rising death toll and the mass burial of flood victims in Libya. It said that it had retrieved the bodies of about 4,000 people so far and that more than 9,000 people in Derna were still missing. It urged the Libyan authorities not to bury the victims in mass graves, as this could cause psychological problems for the families and health risks if the bodies were buried near freshwater sources.
The floods in Libya were triggered by heavy rains from Storm Daniel, which hit the Mediterranean region on Sunday. The storm also caused damage and casualties in other countries, such as Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Greece.