Geneva/Derna – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is calling for an immediate scale up of donor funding to meet the Organization’s estimated needs of USD 22 million to urgently accelerate early recovery efforts in the areas leveled by Storm Daniel four weeks ago. Roughly 30 per cent of the required funding has been secured. 

“There are massive humanitarian needs in the areas devastated by the storm,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. 

“More than 80 IOM staff in northeast Libya are working closely with our national and international partners to respond to the situation and the UN Rapid Response Mechanism was activated to coordinate the response and ensure the quick distribution of relief items to affected populations.” 

IOM, together with other UN partners, calls on all relevant Libyan national and local authorities and Libya’s international partners to facilitate a unified national mechanism to direct the recovery and reconstruction efforts and to ensure transparency and accountability based on an objective assessment of the situation and needs on the ground. 

Storm Daniel caused catastrophic flooding when it struck northeast Libya on 10 September; 4,333 people are reported dead and approximately 8,540 others missing. Roughly 930 migrant workers are among the dead and missing and as many lived in some of the most flood-affected areas of Derna the expectation is the death toll will rise.  

An estimated 42,045 individuals have been displaced by the floods; some people have begun moving back home according to IOM’s latest Displacement Tracking Matrix report. Hundreds have sought shelter in schools but with the imminent start of the school year, addressing the situation to reopen schools is an urgent priority. 

The provision of health care in northeast Libya which has been badly affected by a decade of conflict is further compromised at a time when thousands of cases of poisoning due to water contamination have been reported. The World Health Organization reports more than 100 doctors, nurses and paramedics lost their lives and up to 63 per cent of hospitals they have assessed are partially or not functioning. 

Shelter, water, and sanitation (WASH), and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) continue to be priority needs. IOM teams including 84 national and international staff are providing multi-sector assistance in close partnership with the other UN partners and the Libyan Red Crescent. Medical and MHPSS teams are supporting the two Derna hospitals which are still up and running, and almost 10,000 individuals have been reached so far by our teams, receiving including protection, direct assistance, primary health services and psychosocial support. 

“I visited the affected areas in Libya and witnessed firsthand the devastation and the Libyan community's resilience and unity supporting those affected,” said Othman Belbeisi, IOM Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “There is an urgent need to accelerate early recovery and reconstruction efforts on the ground.”  

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For more information, please contact:  

Cairo: Mohammedali Abunajela, mmabunajela@iom.int  

Libya: Giacomo Terenzi, gterenzi@iom.int 

Geneva: Paul Dillon, pdillon@iom.int