The fear that the dead are hundreds from the storm Daniel in the eastern city of Derna, the Prime Minister Osama Hamad of the eastern Libyan government expressed today, according to an Associated Press report.

At least 150 people have died so far in the devastating floods, according to the official count

In a telephone interview, the prime minister of the eastern Libyan government said that floods have washed away entire neighborhoods in Derna, which has been declared a disaster zone.

The parallel government of Benghazi declared Derna a place of natural disaster. Hundreds of residents remain trapped in hard-to-reach areas, while rescue teams, backed by the army, try to operate in the affected areas.

The storm hit the eastern region of Libya yesterday afternoon and mainly the coastal cities of Jabal al-Akhdar and Benghazi where a curfew was imposed. The area had already been hit by torrential rains for a few days.

Four major oil ports in Libya, Ras Lanuf, Zueitina, Brega and Es Sidra, remained closed since Saturday night for three days, two oil engineers told Reuters.

Search and rescue operations are continuing, eyewitnesses said. Authorities declared a state of emergency, closing schools and shops and imposing a curfew.

The United Nations in Libya said it was closely monitoring the bad weather and would “provide emergency assistance to support local and national response efforts.”