At least 600 people who died in flooding caused by Storm Daniel in Libya's eastern province of Derna have been buried in mass graves, a resident has told The National.
Jameela Al Lafi, 43, from Martuba, south of the hardest-hit area, said her son, 20, helped with the burials.
She said the entire community of Martuba came together to offer assistance, after deadly floods in recent days that killed thousands, with as many as 10,000 missing.
The death toll in Derna rose to 5,300 people on Wednesday morning, the Interior Ministry appointed by the country’s parliament said.
“We have been through wars, ISIS control and conflict – but we've never seen anything like this,” Ms Al Lafi, who runs a nursery, told The National.
Derna was occupied by ISIS in 2014, as Libya descended into civil war after the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
ISIS was expelled in 2015, but fierce battles followed between forces of Gen Khalifa Haftar and the Shura Council militant group that had taken over Derna city.
As bad as those times were, Ms Al Lafi says the situation after Storm Daniel is even worse.
“We have seen the worst of it all. Whole families wiped out. Entire buildings disappearing,” Ms Al Lafi, who runs a nursery, told The National.
“There are 10 and 12-storey buildings, with one or two apartments on every floor. Gone.
“Six hundred bodies were buried in the graveyard. They were using an excavator to create big graves so they can bury them all,” she said.
Ms Al Lafi said her sister, Najah, who lives in the city of Derna with her husband and children, fled to her family home on Thursday, after warnings from local authorities about an incoming storm.
There are concerns flooding could reach Libya's second most-populous city, Benghazi.
A member of the Libyan House of Representatives – the legislature of the country's eastern government – told The National Libya was “not equipped” to handle the type of flooding that hit the eastern area on Sunday.
“The situation is tragic. The fear now is that flooding will reach Benghazi,” Intisar Shennib, chair of the women and children's affairs committee in the House of Representatives, said in a voice message sent exclusively to The National.
“The eastern area is completely cut off from other cities nearby and this has caused difficulty in rescue and recovery teams to reach the victims.
“The resources inside Libya aren't enough to face this tragedy.”
Ms Shennib, who is from Derna, has not been heard from since 12pm on Monday, local time. Communications are down in Derna due to the storm.
Aid has started arriving at Martuba Airbase, with countries including the UAE, Egypt and Algeria providing assistance.
In the meantime, local efforts have been essential – with some schools being turned into shelters.
In Benghazi, Al Fakhamah Hotel Apartments has opened its doors to receive people left homeless by the flooding.
“We have 50 suites that can fit 300 people,” the son of the hotel's owner, Dr Ali Zarqa'a, an orthopaedic surgeon, told The National by phone.
“We have set up an emergency operations room through which we are co-ordinating with the local authorities.”
“We are yet to receive our first group of people – although many remain stuck. We are receiving people who are unable to take shelter in schools, like the elderly and people with special needs.”
“We will provide them with everything they need.”
Dr Zarqa'a has said he will be providing medical assistance.
More than 1,000 bodies had been recovered from Derna as of Tuesday morning, the eastern government said.
“Bodies are lying everywhere – in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings,” Hichem Abu Chkiouat, Minister of Civil Aviation in the eastern government, said , shortly after visiting Derna.
“I am not exaggerating when I say that 25 per cent of the city has disappeared. Many, many buildings have collapsed.”
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that emergency teams were now being mobilised to help on the ground.
The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord has dispatched aid to Derna. Local media said a delegation from the Presidential Council would arrive on Tuesday evening.
Dax Bennett Roque, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s country director for Libya, said the group's team on the ground is reporting a “disastrous situation”, especially for some of the more impoverished communities.
“Communities across Libya have endured years of conflict, poverty and displacement. The latest disaster will exacerbate the situation for these people. Hospitals and shelters will be overstretched amidst the large wave of displacement,” he said.
“Humanitarian aid groups in Libya have been chronically underfunded. Now is the time to show solidarity with the people and help them on the long way back to recovery.”
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
ABU DHABI CARD
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions; Dh90,000; 2,200m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 1,400m
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden; Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh100,000; 1,600m
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh125,000; 1,600m
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1; Dh5,000,000; 1,600m
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
HERO%20CUP%20TEAMS
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FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Company%20Profile
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
