ALBAWABA - Gazan officials reported that Storm Daniel's heavy rains have caught up on the Gaza Strip causing a number of houses to submerge underwater after a night of continuous rains.
Mahmoud Basal, The spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defence Service in Gaza, said: "Our crews dealt with dozens of tasks as a result of the storm that struck the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning. Many homes were flooded and trees were uprooted by rainwater".
"As the storm started heading towards Gaza, the civil defense raised the level of readiness to cope with all possible events," Basal explained.
Storm Daniel in Libya
Storm Daniel first hammered the North African country with 10,000 still reported missing, the death toll has surpassed 6,500 in the city of Derna alone.
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. During a UN meeting in Geneva, Ramadan said via videoconference that at least 10,000 individuals remained missing in Libya.
Official reports said that 25% of the city of Derna had completely perished, aerial photos and videos were posted online showing the severe damage the city suffered, as complete neighbourhoods were washed into the sea with almost no hope of retrieving the bodies of those who drifted into the sea.
Minister of Civil Aviation in the administration that controls the east Hichem Abu Chkiouat, told Reuters by phone shortly after visiting Derna: "Bodies are lying everywhere - in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings. I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city has disappeared. Many, many buildings have collapsed".
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said emergency response teams had been mobilized to help on the ground.
