Libya turns schools into shelters amid rainstorm

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libyan authorities began Monday to shelter people displaced by a deadly storm in public schools in the eastern city of Benghazi.

In a statement, the Benghazi Education Supervision Department said schools will be used to house those affected by Storm Daniel.

The rainstorm swept several areas in eastern Libya on Sunday, most notably the cities of Benghazi, Bayda, and Al Marj, as well as Soussa and Derna, according to an Anadolu reporter.

Libyan authorities said at least 20 people have been killed from floods caused by the storm in eastern Libya.

“Schools will remain closed until Thursday due to the current conditions,” the supervisor of education in Benghazi, Baleid Werfalli, told Anadolu.

“The situation requires concerted efforts to confront the crisis," he added.

On Monday, the head of Libya’s Tripoli-based unity government, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the floods that ravaged the country.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar