Torrential rains and floods in Libya have killed an “enormous” number of people in the thousands, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (FICR) has said, as the biblical disaster unfolds in the country.

The casualty count is unclear, said Tamer Ramadan from Tunis. “We don’t have definitive numbers” at the moment, he said, adding that “the number of missing is close to 10,000”.

Storm Daniel hit eastern Libya on Sunday and mainly the coastal zones of the Jabal al-Akhdar region and the Benghazi region, where a curfew was imposed.

In Derna alone, the port city where two dams burst at the weekend, 1,000 dead have already been counted, while local media say more than 2,800 dead and more than 7,000 missing.

Three areas of Kyrenia, the country’s eastern coastal region, have been declared a state of natural disaster due to flooding, and Libya’s presidential council has appealed for help from the international community.

“The humanitarian needs far exceed the capabilities of the Libyan Red Crescent and even the capabilities of the government,” he explained. “For this reason the government appealed for international help and we will also continue to appeal for urgent help,” said Tamer Ramadan.

In the eastern part of Libya are located the most important oil wells and the terminal oil stations of the country. The National Oil Company (NOC) has declared a “state of high alert” and has “suspended flights” between production units, where activity has been drastically reduced.