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Libya floods: Derna city alone recovers 1,000 bodies – minister
The death toll from floods in Libya in one city alone stands at more than 1,000, a senior official who visited the eastern port of Derna has said.
“Bodies are lying everywhere,” the minister from the eastern-based government told Reuters news agency.
Much of Derna, which has about 100,000 residents, is under water after two dams and four bridges collapsed. The flooding, which has also devastated other coastal areas, is as a result of a Storm Daniel which hit on Sunday.
“The number of bodies recovered in Derna is more than 1,000,” Hichem Chkiouat, the aviation minister and part of the eastern government’s emergency response committee, told Reuters by phone. He said the final death toll was expected to be much higher. “I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city has disappeared. Many, many buildings have collapsed.”
The eastern cities of Benghazi, Sousse and Al-Marj have also all been affected.
Earlier, Eastern Prime Minister Osama Hamad told a Libyan TV channel it was estimated that 2,000 people had died and thousands were missing: “Entire neighbourhoods in Derna have disappeared, along with their residents… swept away by water.”
Alongside areas in the east, the western city of Misrata was among those hit by the floods.
Libya has been in political chaos since long-serving ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011 – leaving the country effectively split with an interim, internationally recognised government operating from the capital, Tripoli, and another one in the east.
According to Libyan journalist Abdulkader Assad, this is hampering rescue efforts as the various authorities are not able to respond with agility to a natural disaster. “There are no rescue teams, there are no trained rescuers in Libya. Everything over the last 12 years was about war,” he told the BBC. “There are two governments in Libya and that is actually slowing down the help that is coming to Libya because it’s a little bit confusing. You have people who are pledging help but the help is not coming.”
(BBC)
Half-centuries from Gull Feroza and Sidra Amin helped Pakistan start their tour of Sri Lanka on a winning note. After restricting Sri Lanka to 210 for 9, thanks to Nashra Sandhu’s 3 for 42, Pakistan got home with five wickets and seven overs to spare in the first woman’s ODI in Hambantota.
Vishmi Gunaratne, reunited with captain chamari Athapaththu at the top of the order, helped Sri Lanka lay a solid foundation after they opted to bat. The hosts raced to 31 without loss in the first five overs. Gunaratne and Athapaththu soon brought up their fifth fifty-run partnership in ODIs, the most by an opening pair for Sri Lanka.
Once spin came on, the scoring slowed down. Gunaratne was the first to depart when she became Sandhu’s first victim. Athapaththu and Hasini Perera then added 53 for the second wicket before the Sri Lanka captain was bowled by Sandhu. Pakistan applied the squeeze when Sri Lanka were 109 for 2 in the 24th over. The only notable stand for Sri Lanka thereon was between Nilakshika Silva and Kavisha Dilhari, who added 42 for the fifth wicket. But Sri Lanka’s final surge never came and they lost 5 for 32 in the last seven overs to be restricted to a below-par total.
Pakistan hardly broke a sweat in their chase. Feroza struck her fourth successive ODI half-century. She was rapid in the first powerplay, and was the aggressor in the 58-run opening partnership with Sadar Shamas. Feroza then added 90 for the second wicket with Amin, who batted steadily. Feroza eventually fell for a breezy 77-ball 78 while Amin scored 57 off 94 before being dismissed, with victory in sight.
The win was Pakistan’s fifth consecutive ODI win, which put them second on the ICC Women’s Championship points table.
Scores:
Pakistan Women 211 for 5 in 43 overs (Gull Feroza 78, Sidra Amin 57; Kavisha Dilhari 2-37) beat Sri Lanka Women 210 for 9 in 50 overs (Nilakshika Silva 46, Chamari Athapaththu 46; Nashra Sandhu 3-42, Tasmia Rubab 2-34) by five wickets
(CRICINFO)
[Cricbuzzz]
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