Libya flood disaster displaces over 43,000 people, IOM reports

Libya's flood disaster, which killed thousands in the city of Derna, also displaced more than 43,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration.

"An estimated 43,059 individuals have been displaced by the floods in northeastern Libya," the IOM said on Thursday, adding that a "lack of water supply is reportedly driving many displaced out of Derna" to other areas.

A tsunami-sized flash flood broke through two ageing river dams upstream from the coastal city after the Mediterranean Storm Daniel lashed the area on September 10.

Mobile and internet services were meanwhile restored after a two-day disruption, following protests Monday that saw angry residents blame the authorities for the high death toll.

Authorities had blamed the communications outage on "a rupture in the optical fibre" link to Derna, but some internet users and analysts charged there had been a deliberate "blackout".

Suspects 'identified'

In a televised interview on Wednesday evening, Libya's prosecutor general Al Seddik Al Sour vowed "rapid results" in the investigation into the cause of the tragedy.

He added that those suspected of corruption or negligence "have already been identified", without naming them.

Survivors in have Derna meanwhile faced new threats.

The United Nations warned this week that disease outbreaks could bring "a second devastating crisis" to the flood-hit areas.

Local officials, aid agencies and the World Health Organization "are concerned about the risk of disease outbreak, particularly from contaminated water and the lack of sanitation", the UN said.

Libya's disease control centre has warned that mains water in the disaster zone is polluted and urged residents not to use it.