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.
ADVERTISEMENTOfficials in Libya say at least 2,300 people are confirmed to have died as a result of flooding in the country.
About 7,000 have been injured and thousands more are still missing following torrential rains.
The worst affected area is the city of Derna where two dams burst.
The Red Crescent said its workers are struggling to cope with the scale of the disaster.
Red Crescent Envoy Tamer Ramadan said: "The challenges are ranging between access to basic health facilities or health services, shelter and shelter management, food and food items, first aid, social support and restoring family links and last but not least, management of the dead bodies."
The extreme flooding followed heavy downpours brought by Storm Daniel to the east of the country.
Across the region towns and villages were inundated and authorities say entire neighbourhoods have been washed away.
Ousssama Ali, spokesman for the Libyan "Emergency and Rescue Service" under the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, said the floods caused by storm Daniel had left "more than 2,300 dead" and around 7,000 injured in Derna, while more than 5,000 people were missing.
He added at least 65 other people had been killed in the storm in other towns and cities in eastern Libya.
The National Petroleum Company, which has its main oilfields and terminals in eastern Libya, declared "a state of maximum alert" and suspended flights between production sites where activity was drastically reduced.
The Red Crescent has appealed for international assistance and says the devastation is on a similar level to the earthquake in neighbouring Morocco.
Weather forecasters predicted more heavy rain there in the coming days.