UAE sends more aid to Libya after floods kill at least 11,300

Aid plane arrived at Benghazi Airport on Friday

Soldiers at Benina Airport in Libya supervise the arrival of aid from the UAE for survivors of the floods in Derna. AFP

UAE aid for survivors of the fatal floods is unloaded at the airport in Benghazi. AFP

Medical supplies and relief items sent by the UAE are unloaded. Reuters

Libyan military officers handle relief items arriving from the UAE. Reuters

Aid from the UAE is unloaded in Benghazi. Reuters

Libyan military officers and workers unload relief items. Reuters

The UAE sent the aid following devastating floods in Libya. Reuters

Libyan military officers watch workers unload relief items arriving from the United Arab Emirates to provide aid following fatal floods in Derna and neighbouring areas, at Benina International Airport in Benghazi, Libya, September 15, 2023. REUTERS / Amr Alfiky

A UAE aid plane has arrived in Libya to help survivors of the flooding caused by Storm Daniel.

The plane carrying hundreds of tonnes food and health packages landed at Benghazi Airport on Friday evening, state news agency Wam reported.

The flight comes after President Sheikh Mohamed on Monday ordered urgent aid as well as search-and-rescue teams to Libya after floods that have killed at least 11,300 people, according to a revised death toll from the Libyan Red Crescent.

At least 10,000 others are missing, the head of the aid group told the Associated Press on Thursday evening.

The new death toll is more than double estimates given by officials from Libya's eastern administration.

Storm Daniel caused havoc and flash floods in many towns in eastern Libya, with the worst damage in the city of Derna, where dams were destroyed and floodwaters washed away entire neighbourhoods, authorities said.

Those who managed to reach the city described devastation in its centre, with thousands still missing and more than 30,000 displaced.

A search-and-rescue team arrived in Libya earlier this week, comprising 34 members equipped with vehicles, jet skis and search-and-rescue equipment.

A further five planes carrying three rescue teams, urgent relief aid and medical supplies landed at Benina Airport on Thursday.

The flights were operated as part of an air bridge set up by the UAE government to help the victims of the flood caused by Storm Daniel.

Libya's Derna latest – in pictures