GENEVA / LIBYA FLOODS

12-Sep-2023 00:02:59
An official from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said that extreme rainfall has caused devastating flooding and loss of life in Libya with an estimate of 3,000 people who have died and up to 10,000 people that are recorded to be missing in the massive floods which have overwhelmed on 10 September eastern parts of the country. UNTV CH
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STORY: GENEVA / LIBYA FLOODS
TRT: 02:59
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 12 SEPTEMBER 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot, UN flag alley, UN Geneva
2. Wide shot, speakers at podium and attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Harris, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Epic proportions, there’s not been a storm like this in the region, or so in living memory, so it’s a great shock.”
4. Close up, attendee at the press conference
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Harris, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Torrential rain to an area affecting at least 1.5 million to 1.8 million people. And it’s also damaged hospitals, it’s wiped out some hospitals, left some partially functioning. So the work now is really to get in supplies, sadly some of those supplies are things like body bags but also trauma kits. We did have supplies that were prepositioned, so they were already been deployed.”
6. Wide shot, attendees, cameramen/women and sound engineers at the press conference, screens with speaker
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Harris, Spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Our second priority is to look at the people who are displaced. It’s already mentioned that there are lots of people who are already living in precarious circumstances. And we have to look at what kind of field hospitals can be set up, and what kind of mobile clinics. So there’s a great deal of work that needs to be done and is being mobilized as I speak.”
8. Wide shot, speakers at podium and attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Tamer Ramadan, Head of delegation in Libya, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC):
“The hurricane Daniel hit the eastern part of Libya two days ago and left behind thousands and thousands of affected population between death, stranded and lost during the hurricane. We are responding on the ground through our partners from the Libyan Red Crescent. The teams were deployed immediately once the hurricane hit the affected five cities.”
10. Wide shot, attendees, cameramen/women and sound engineers at the press conference, screens with speaker
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Tamer Ramadan, Head of delegation in Libya, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC):
“The humanitarian needs are huge and much more beyond the abilities of the Libyan Red Crescent, and even beyond the abilities of the government. That’s why the government in the east has issued an international appeal for support.”
12. Wide shot, speaker, attendees, cameramen/women and sound engineers at the press conference, screens with speakers
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Dillon, Spokesperson, International Organization for Migration (IOM):
“There are roughly 600’000 migrants in Libya at this time and we’re conscious that in some of the affected areas there are migrant populations but at this early stage and the many access issues that we and humanitarian responders are facing, we don’t have a clear picture about how badly they have been affected. But as part of the general population, you would expect the same impacts that the residents of that area have experienced over the last 24 hours and it will of course impact on the migrants who are living there as well.”
14. Med shot, attendees at the press conference, screen with speaker
15. Close up, attendees at the press conference
16. Med shot, cameramen/women and sound engineers at the press conference
STORYLINE
An official from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said today (12 Sep) that extreme rainfall has caused devastating flooding and loss of life in Libya with an estimate of 3,000 people who have died and up to 10,000 people that are recorded to be missing in the massive floods which have overwhelmed on 10 September eastern parts of the country.

“The hurricane Daniel hit the eastern part of Libya two days ago and left behind thousands and thousands of affected populations between death, stranded and lost during the hurricane”, said Tamer Ramadan, Head of IFRC delegation in Libya. “We are responding on the ground through our partners from the Libyan Red Crescent. The teams were deployed immediately once the hurricane hit the affected five cities.”

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), two dams unleashed their waters during a heavy storm this weekend, sweeping entire neighborhoods into the sea.

The storm reached a peak in northeastern Libya on 10 September, with strong winds of 70 - 80 km/h. This caused communications interruption, the fall of electricity towers and trees. Torrential rains of between 150 - 240 mm caused flash floods in several cities.
Entire neighborhoods in Libya’s eastern city Derna disappeared, along with their residents swept away by water making the situation catastrophic and out of control.

“The humanitarian needs are huge and much more beyond the abilities of the Libyan Red Crescent, and even beyond the abilities of the government”, stressed Mr Ramadan who was speaking from Tunis via a videoconference to reporters at a briefing at the United Nations in Geneva. “That’s why the government in the east has issued an international appeal for support.”

Margarete Harris, spokesperson of the World Health Organization (WHO) has described the flooding as “epic proportions, there’s not been a storm like this in the region in living memory, so it’s a great shock.” WHO has deployed prepositioned aid supplies to the affected areas.

“The torrential rain to an area affecting at least 1.5 million to 1.8 million people,” said WHO’s spokesperson. “It’s also damaged hospitals, it’s wiped out some hospitals, left some partially functioning. So, the work now is really to get in supplies, sadly some of those supplies are things like body bags but also trauma kits.”

The Libyan Government announced three days of mourning in all the affected cities; calling them ″Disaster Areas.″ Emergency responders, government workers and residents were digging through rubble to look for survivors.

“Our second priority is to look at the people who are displaced”, said WHO’s spokesperson. “It’s already mentioned that there are lots of people who are already living in precarious circumstances. And we have to look at what kind of field hospitals can be set up, and what kind of mobile clinics. So there’s a great deal of work that needs to be done and is being mobilized as I speak.”

Libya has become a key springboard for migrants heading for Europe from over 44 nationalities who most likely have also been severely impacted by the floods.

“There are roughly 600’000 migrants in Libya at this time and we are conscious that in some of the affected areas there are migrant populations but at this early stage and the many access issues that we and humanitarian responders are facing, we don’t have a clear picture about how badly they have been affected”, said Paul Dillon, spokesperson for the International Organiziaton for Migration (IOM). “But as part of the general population, you would expect the same impacts that the residents of that area have experienced over the last 24 hours and it will of course impact on the migrants who are living there as well.”

Libya, a mostly desert oil-rich country has been in political chaos since long-serving rule Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011 leaving the country effectively split with an interim, internationally recognized government operating from the capital, Tripoli, and another one in the east.

Since 2014, Libya has been divided into competing political and military factions based in different parts of the country. The two sides signed a permanent ceasefire in 2020, but political rivalries continue.
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