Six hospitals in floods-hit Derna resume service: Libyan official

Tripoli, Sep 18

Othman Abdul Jalil, Health minister of Libya's eastern-based government, has announced that services had resumed in six hospitals in the city of Derna, a week after deadly floods hit eastern part of the country.

"The Crisis and Emergency Committee reactivated six hospitals in the city of Derna for surgeries and they are now using modern equipment," Jalil told a press conference on Sunday in the city that was hit hardest by the floods.

The official said local residents, rescuers and volunteers in Derna have been vaccinated to prevent the spread of diseases, and a committee has been set up to provide psychological support for flood survivors in the city, which is located nearly 1,300 km east of the capital Tripoli, Xinhua news agency reported.

On September 10, Mediterranean storm Daniel triggered the worst floods in Libya in decades, which have so far claimed at least 5,500 lives and left another 10,000 missing, according to official statistics.

Oil-rich Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west after the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.