DERNA, Libya (AP) — The death toll in Libya’s coastal city of Derna has soared to 11,300 as search efforts continue following a massive flood fed by the breaching of two dams in heavy rains, the Libyan Red Crescent said Thursday

Marie el-Drese, secretary-general of aid group, told The Associated Press by phone that a further 10,100 are reported missing in the Mediterranean city. Health authorities previously had put the death toll in Derna at 5,500.

The flooding swept away entire families on Sunday night and exposed vulnerabilities in the oil-rich country that has been mired in conflict since a 2011 uprising that toppled long-ruling dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Here’s a look at the latest developments.

What happened in Libya?

Daniel, an unusually strong Mediterranean storm, caused deadly flooding in towns across eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. As the storm pounded the coast Sunday night, residents said they heard loud explosions when two dams outside the city collapsed. Flood waters gushed down Wadi Derna, a valley that cuts through the city, crashing through buildings and washing people out to sea.

A United Nation (UN) official said Thursday that most casualties could have been avoided.

“If there would have been a normal operating meteorological service, they could have issued the warnings,” World Meteorological Organization (WMO) head Petteri Taalas told reporters in Geneva. “The emergency management authorities would have been able to carry out the evacuation.”

The WMO said earlier this week that the National Meteorological Center had issued warnings 72 hours before the flooding, notifying all governmental authorities by e-mail and through media.

Officials in eastern Libya warned the public about the coming storm and on Saturday had ordered residents to evacuate areas along the coast, fearing a surge from the sea. But there was no warning about the dams collapsing.

How does conflict In Libya affect the disaster?

The startling devastation reflected the storm’s intensity, but also Libya’s vulnerability. Oil-rich Libya has been divided between rival governments for most of the past decade — one in the east, the other in the capital, Tripoli — and one result has been widespread neglect of infrastructure.

The two dams that collapsed outside Derna were built in the 1970s. A report by a State-run audit agency in 2021 said the dams had not been maintained despite the allocation of more than two million euros for that purpose in 2012 and 2013.

Libya’s Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah acknowledged the maintenance issues in a Cabinet meeting Thursday and called on the public prosecutor to open an urgent investigation into the dams’ collapse.

The disaster brought a rare moment of unity, as Government agencies across the country rushed to help the affected areas.

While the Tobruk-based Government of east Libya is leading relief efforts, the Tripoli-based western Government allocated the equivalent of $412 million for reconstruction in Derna and other eastern towns, and an armed group in Tripoli sent a convoy with humanitarian aid.

Is help reaching survivors?

The floods have also displaced at least 30,000 people in Derna, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, and several thousand others were forced to leave their homes in other eastern towns, it said.

The floods damaged or destroyed many access roads to Derna, hampering the arrival of international rescue teams and humanitarian assistance. Local authorities were able to clear some routes, and over the past 48 hours humanitarian convoys have been able to enter the city.

The UN humanitarian office issued an emergency appeal for US$71.4 million to respond to urgent needs of 250,000 Libyans most affected. The humanitarian office, known as OCHA, estimated that approximately 884,000 people in five provinces live in areas directly affected by the rain and flooding.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday it has provided 6,000 body bags to local authorities, as well as medical, food and other supplies distributed to hard-hit communities.

International aid started to arrive earlier this week in Benghazi, 250 kilometres (150 miles) west of Derna. Several countries have sent aid and rescue teams, including neighbouring Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. Italy dispatched a naval vessel on Thursday carrying humanitarian aid and two navy helicopters to be used for search and rescue operations.

President Joe Biden said the United States would send money to relief organisations and coordinate with Libyan authorities and the United Nations to provide additional support.