Aid groups have warned of growing risk posed by the spread of disease that could compound the humanitarian crisis in Libya, as hopes of finding more survivors fade days after deadly flooding.
Sunday's flood submerged the port city of Derna, washing thousands of people and homes out to sea after two upstream dams burst under the pressure of torrential rains triggered by the hurricane-strength storm.
Aid organisations like Islamic Relief and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have warned that the upcoming period could see the spread of disease as well as grave difficulties in delivering aid to those most in need. The death toll is increasing as more bodies are being recovered.
Islamic Relief warned of a "second humanitarian crisis" after the flood, pointing to the "growing risk of water-borne diseases and shortages of food, shelter and medicine".
Children die
"Thousands of people don't have anywhere to sleep and don't have food," said Salah Aboulgasem, the organisation's deputy director of partner development.
"In conditions like this, diseases can quickly spread as water systems are contaminated," he added. "The city smells like death. Almost everyone has lost someone they know."
At least 55 children died after drinking suspected polluted water in Derna following the earthquake.
“We detected 55 cases of contamination with water unfit for consumption and drinking in Derna, all of them a re children,” Haidar al-Sayeh, head of the unity government's National Center for Disease Control, said on Friday.
The cases occurred among displaced families due to drinking water mixed with sewage, he explained.
Chaotic efforts
Citing sanitation officials, the Derna City Council Friday warned against “using water from wells located within the city center.”
MSF meanwhile said it was deploying teams to the east to assess water and sanitation, AFP news agency reports.
"With this type of event we can really worry about water-related disease," said Manoelle Carton, MSF's medical coordinator in Derna, who described efforts to coordinate aid as "chaotic".
But the Red Cross and the World Health Organization pointed out that contrary to widespread belief, the bodies of victims of natural disasters rarely pose a health threat.
Aid appeal
In a Friday night news conference, Ahmed al-Mesmari, the spokesman for east-based military strongman Khalifa Haftar pointed to "enormous needs for reconstruction".
The United Nations launched an appeal for more than $71 million to assist hundreds of thousands in need and warned the "extent of the problem" remains unclear.
The International Organization for Migration meanwhile said "over 38,640" people had been left homeless in eastern Libya, 30,000 of them in Derna alone.
