Libya says 95% of educational institutions in flood-hit areas damaged

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libya’s unity government said Monday that 95% of the educational institutions in the flood-stricken areas of the eastern part of the country are damaged.

The statement was made at a joint press conference in Tripoli by Minister of Education Musa Al-Maqrif, who is also part of the government’s emergency and rapid response team, along with other officials.

He said, however, that the school year will start next week across Libya.

"17 education facilities in Benghazi city have registered displaced students from the devastated areas," Al-Maqrif added.

At the same press conference, Ali al-Quweirah, an official in the Education Ministry, noted that 114 schools in 15 localities were damaged by the floods.

He added that technical teams are evaluating and assessing the costs for the maintenance work in the schools.

Earlier on Monday, the Tripoli-based government said that 70% of the infrastructure in eastern Libya was damaged by last week’s devastating floods.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 3,958 people have died across Libya due to flooding, revising its previous death toll of 11,300.

On Saturday, the head of Libya's eastern government, Osama Hamad, said that 3,252 corpses had been buried so far.

More than 40,000 people have been displaced across Libya’s northeastern areas by the deadly floods, said the UN office.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar