Minister of Health Ehmed bin Omar and Minister of Local Administration Mellad al-Taher inspected the humanitarian situation in the city of Ghat on Friday after it was hit by floods.
Bin Omar and al-Taher were briefed on the necessary requirements to deal with the situation of the afflicted people. He highlighted that his ministry transferred medicines and urgent medical supplies to the city via air ambulances.
The health minister described the situation in Ghat as “tragic” after more than a thousand families were displaced and their homes were severely damaged, while the city suffers continuous power and communication outage, vowing that his ministry will continue delivering assistance on board African Airlines aircrafts.
The wave of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms that hit the south western Ghat region of Libya has led to several deaths and affected 20,000 people, the U.N. Tripoli Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports.
It said the rainfall commenced on May 28 and intensified on June 2, severely affecting the municipality of Ghat and some surrounding regions. The report added that the rainfall and thunderstorms are expected to continue but decrease in intensity in the coming days. The water levels have not receded and vary between 0.5 to 2 meters depending on the area.
Meanwhile, the municipality has activated the Emergency Committee consisting of local authorities, police, and the Libyan Red Crescent.
