At the entrance to Derna, in eastern Libya, where a storm swelled a river and burst two dams, sending flood waters crashing through the city early on Monday, a group of survivors stood looking for shelter with their homes destroyed.
Raja Sassi, 39, survived the flood with his wife and small daughter after water had reached an upper floor, but the rest of his family had died, he said.
Saliha Abu Bakr, a 46-year-old lawyer, said she and her two sisters had survived the disaster, but her mother had died.
The flood waters rushed into their apartment almost up to the ceiling and for what she said felt like three hours she held a piece of furniture trying to stay afloat.
The flood waters receded and they left the building shortly before it collapsed with her mother inside.
Persons:
Ahmed Elumami DERNA, Raja Sassi, Nouriya, Safia Mustafa, Obai, Saliha Abu Bakr, Ahmed Elumami, Angus McDowall, Alex Richardson
Organizations:
Reuters
Locations:
Libya, Derna