September 14, 2023

DERNA-Libya is racing to bury its dead as bodies pile up in the streets of Derna, the northern coastal city devastated by flooding after a torrential downpour smashed through two dams, washing homes into the sea. The death toll rose to over 6,000 people as of Wednesday morning local time, according to Saadeddin Abdul Wakil, health ministry undersecretary of the Unity Government in Tripoli, one of two rival governments operating in the country. Morgues are full in hospitals that remain out of service despite the desperate need to treat survivors of the disaster, according to staff. Around 10,000 more are missing, potentially either swept out to sea or buried beneath rubble that’s strewn throughout the city once home to over 100,000 people, authorities say. More than 30,000 people have been displaced by the flooding in Derna, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said Wednesday. Source:https://www.nation.com.pk/14-Sep-2023/morgues-overwhelmed-in-libya-as-floods-death-toll-tops-6-000

HANOI-At least 56 people are known to have died and dozens were injured in a huge fire in an apartment block in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi. Some 37 people were injured in the fire, police said, adding that 39 victims have been identified. The fire, which broke out during the night, has been extinguished. The owner of the building has been arrested. Authorities in fast-growing Hanoi say many newly-built apartments do not meet fire safety regulations. The city’s population has quadrupled to 5.25 million in the past 20 years. The cause of the fire is being investigated but witnesses said it started in the parking floor of the building, which was packed with motorbikes. Residents described hearing a loud bang at around 23:00 local time on Tuesday (16:00 GMT), and then seeing black smoke rising through the building. Source:https://www.nation.com.pk/14-Sep-2023/56-dead-and-dozens-injured-in-hanoi-apartment-blaze