storm destroyed two dams and unleashed a torrent of fast-running muddy water that carried buildings, homes and entire families away.
Libyan National Army spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said late Monday more than 2,000 people had been killed from floodwaters in the city of Derna alone after Storm Daniel made landfall on Sunday, and thousands there were still missing. The Associated Press cited eastern Libya's health minister as saying more than 1,000 victims' bodies were collected so far.
Libyan officials are struggling to reach many areas, making it difficult to confirm exact numbers of dead or missing, and estimates have ranged widely.
In the eastern city of Derna, which has seen the worst of the devastation, as many as 10,000 people remain missing, Othman Abduljalil, health minister in Libya’s eastern administration, told Libya’s Almasar TV. He called the situation “catastrophic,” when he toured the city on Monday.
Whole neighborhoods are believed to have been washed away in the city, according to authorities.
Red Crescent volunteers who were killed while helping families displaced by the flooding, the IFRC's chief posted to social media.
One man told the Reuters news agency 30 of his relatives were killed in the disaster.
"Most people were sleeping. Nobody was ready," Mostafa Salem told the outlet.
 Benghazi along the coast, is surrounded by the nearby hills of the fertile Jabal Akhdar region.
The city was once where militants from the Islamic State group built a presence in Libya, after Gaddafi's fall. They were driven out some years later by the Libyan National Army (LNA), forces loyal to Gen Khalifa Haftar who is allied to the eastern administration.
The powerful general said eastern officials are currently assessing damage caused by the floods so roads can be reconstructed and electricity restored to help rescue efforts.
Libya's leading Al-Wasat news website has suggested that failures to properly rebuild and maintain infrastructure in Derna after years of conflict is partly to blame for the high death toll.
"The security chaos and Libyan authorities' laxity in carrying out close monitoring of safety measures [of the dams] led to the catastrophe," it quoted economic expert Mohammed Ahmed as saying.
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