Libya floods toll tops 2,300, with thousands still missing

Floodwaters broke through dams and smashed through the city of Derna, washing away entire neighbourhoods

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Emergency workers uncovered hundreds of bodies as they dug through the wreckage of Libya's eastern city of Derna on Tuesday, and 10,000 people were reported still missing after floodwaters broke through dams and smashed through the city, washing away entire neighbourhoods.

At least 700 recovered bodies have been buried so far, the health minister for eastern Libya said. Derna's ambulance authority put the current death toll at 2,300.

But the toll is likely to be far higher, in the thousands, said Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He told a UN briefing in Geneva via videoconference from Tunisia that at least 10,000 people were still missing.

The situation in Libya was "as devastating as the situation in Morocco," Ramadan said, referring to the deadly earthquake that hit near the city of Marrakesh on Friday night.