Aid arrives in flood-hit Libya but hopes fade for survivors

DERNA - Shipments of international aid began to arrive in Libya on Saturday, offering a lifeline to thousands despite dwindling hopes of finding more survivors days after deadly flash floods.

Sunday's floods submerged the port city of Derna, washing thousands of people and homes out to sea after two upstream dams burst under the pressure of torrential rains triggered by a hurricane-strength storm.

Conflicting death tolls have been reported, with the latest issued on Saturday by the health minister of the eastern-based administration, Othman Abdeljalil, putting the number of lives lost at 3,166.

The World Health Organization said "the bodies of 3,958 people have been recovered and identified", with 9,000 more still missing, as it announced 29 tonnes of health supplies had arrived in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.

"This is a disaster of epic proportions," said Ahmed Zouiten, the WHO's representative in Libya. "We are saddened by the unspeakable loss of thousands of souls."

An AFP correspondent also saw two aid-laden planes, one from the United Arab Emirates and another from Iran, land in Benghazi, more than 300 kilometres west of Derna.

A steady stream of vehicles was seen trickling into Derna on a makeshift road as diggers toiled to shift rubble near an apartment block with a missing facade.

In Al-Bayda, 100 kilometres west of Derna, locals worked to clear roads and homes of the mounds of mud left behind by the deluge.

The floods were caused by hurricane-strength Storm Daniel, compounded by the poor infrastructure in Libya, which was plunged into turmoil after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.