ALBAWABA - UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement that the use of advanced warning systems would have lessened the casualties and damage caused by the recent devastating floods in Libya.
Taalas, the WMO’s secretary-general, told reporters in Geneva where he presented the United in Science 2023 report that: "If there had been advanced warning we could have avoided most of the human casualties in Libya,".
"They could have issued the warnings and the emergency management forces would have been able to carry out the evacuation of the people, and we could have avoided most of the human casualties,".
"The flooding events came and there was no evacuation taking place because there were no proper early warning systems in place. Of course, we cannot fully avoid economic losses, but we could have also minimized those losses by having proper services in place".
Libya's National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued early warnings for the harsh weather 72 hours ahead of time and warned governmental agencies through email, encouraging them to take necessary precautions. However, the World Meteorological Organization stated that it was "not clear whether (the warnings) were effectively disseminated".
The storm's devastation has left thousands of Libyans in a state of shock and sadness, as a number of cities suffer from the catastrophic aftermath of Storm Daniel.
Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Tamer Ramadan said that the death toll is likely to be higher than the actual figures announced.
During a UN meeting in Geneva, Ramadan said via videoconference that at least 10,000 individuals remained missing in Libya. He then stated that almost 40,000 people had been displaced as the country continued to fight the catastrophe.
The storm also hit other parts of eastern Libya, notably the town of Bayda, where 50 people were killed. According to footage released by the Medical Center of Bayda on Facebook, the main hospital was flooded and patients had to be evacuated.
