Image source, Getty Images

If you're just catching up with what's going on in Derna in eastern Libya, here is the latest on the devastating floods:

• At least 2,300 people are confirmed to have died
• But with 10,000 people reported missing, the death toll is expected to rise
• Victims wrapped in body bags and blankets have been buried in mass graves
• Rescue efforts continue - but have been hampered by the political situation in Libya, with the country split between two rival administrations
• Daylight has revealed ruined neighbourhoods with streets covered in mud and rubble

Image source, Reuters

The United Nations is calling deadly floods in Libya a “calamity of epic proportions” noting the latest figures suggesting more than 5,000 people dead and about 10,000 who have been reported missing.

Up to 1.8 million people are estimated to have been affected by the torrential rains that hit several cities in the country, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Calling the disaster “epic”, WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said “here’s not been a storm like this in the region in living memory, so it’s a great shock”.

Emergency workers and residents are continuing to dig through rubble to look for survivors and the dead.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has sent his condolences to the Libyan authorities and the families of those who have died.

He said the UN was working with the authorities to assess needs and support relief efforts.

Read more:

• Libya floods: Entire neighbourhoods dragged into the sea
• Flooded city buries its dead in mass graves

Image source, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Three volunteers have died while helping victims of raging floods in eastern Libya, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.

Hamdi Belaid, Khaled Adwal and Abadi Al-Kharm died while helping some of the Derna town residents trapped by the floods, Jagan Chapagain, the IFRC secretary general, said.

"I express our profound sadness and send my deepest condolences to their families and our colleagues at the Libyan Red Crescent,” he said, external.

Search and rescue operations are continuing and some 10,000 are reported missing.

Image source, Getty Images

Emergency services in Libya are continuing to retrieve the dead amid the devastation caused by the widespread flooding in the country.

The Red Crescent says the full scale of the disaster is still unclear.

The official death toll is reported to be at least 2,300.

Media reports have however quoted a spokesman for the interior ministry as saying that more than 5,300 people had died in Derna city, which is the worst hit by the disaster.

The toll is expected to keep rising, with at least 10,000 people reported missing.

It comes as rescue teams in eastern Libya are continuing with efforts to deliver urgently-needed emergency relief to areas devastated by floods.

However with many roads destroyed by raging floodwaters, getting the aid to survivors is a challenge.

Rescue efforts have also been hampered by the political situation, with the country split between two rival governments.

A substantial storm hit the country on Sunday, causing torrential rain which has caused the disaster.

On Tuesday, the Libyan Red Crescent said the country was facing large-scale devastating disaster, and called for urgent support from international actors.

Read more:

• Flooded city buries its dead in mass graves

We will be keeping an eye on developments in Libya but also bringing you news from elsewhere on the continent.

We're bringing our coverage of the flooding in Libya to a close for the day now. Thanks for joining us on this very difficult day for the country.

You can scroll down to have a look at developments through the day, or keep up with the latest news with our story here.

This page was brought to you with the help of the BBC Africa digital team, as well as Jack Burgess, Paul Gribben, Jacqueline Howard, Jamie Whitehead, Tarik Habte and Andrew Humphrey in London.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us, here's a quick recap of what we know about the massive amount of devastation from huge floods in Libya caused by Storm Daniel:

• A substantial storm hit Libya in north Africa on Sunday, causing torrential rain which has reportedly killed at least 2,300 people
• It's thought that over 10,000 people are missing
• Two dams collapsed in the port of Derna, where more than 1,000 bodies have been recovered and part of the city has swept into the sea
• Libya's prime minister said there have been problems "retrieving the bodies from the sea"
• Rescue teams from Turkey and Egypt have arrived in Libya's city of Benghazi with medical supplies and doctors

Image source, Reuters

The director of the Wahda Hospital in Derna has said that 1,700 deaths have been counted in just one hospital.

Dr Mohamad al-Qabisi, who runs the hospital in one of the areas worst-affected by the flooding, says they have been counting bodies "lying in the hallways".

"There are some who have not been identified," he adds, and also says "we started photographing and assigning numbers to them".

The death toll is expected to rise as rescue efforts continue but Dr Qabisi is concerned that his staff may be limited in their ability to continue to help, due to a lack of resources and conditions.

"Things are very bad; the hospital is dilapidated," he adds.

The UK's former ambassador to Libya has defended the government's decision to suspend its operations from Tripoli in 2014.

Security conditions worsened following the UK's departure culminating in a civil war in 2015.

Peter Millet, who served as ambassador from 2015 to 2018, said on BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "We did not walk away."

Millet said that several political bodies, including the UN, "actively tried to bring the different parties together", adding, "but none of it has worked".

The strategic importance of Libya remains essential to ensuring stability in the West he asserted, saying; "Libya matters. It has Russian mercenaries on board. A lot of the migration flows that come up through Africa come through Libya."

We've been seeing more video material from Derna, which reveals the trail of destruction that floods have left across the city.

Footage in this clip shows the wreckage of cars piled up and buildings that have crumbled apart after the flooding hit.

Image source, Reuters

Libya's Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Al-Dbeibah earlier spoke to reporters to give an update on the situation in his country.

"We do not need aid, not even medication or equipment, nor doctors or ambulances", he said.

However, he did say "we have a problem in retrieving the bodies from the sea."

He adds that the Libyan navy, divers, and frogmen "are putting all their efforts into retrieving the bodies”.

Dbeibah also said "ourselves and what were the reasons (for the flood devastation) in a calm and intelligent way".

He also confirmed that 2.5bn Libyan dinars ($515m; £413m) have been allocated "to kick off reconstruction in those areas".

Whole neighbourhoods are experiencing "catastrophic damage" in the wake of Libya's floods, Ciaran Donnelly, the International Rescue Committee (IRC)'s senior vice-president, has said.

The scale of the disaster is causing "immense" challenges for rescue efforts, he adds.

Donnelly also says the IRC will be conducting a joint needs assessment with other NGOs and "scaling up our services" to support people in need.

"Climate change has made these extreme weather events more frequent and intense," he says.

This has made it "even harder" for communities to cope and rebuild, "especially in conflict-affected regions," he adds.

Libya's leading Al-Wasat news website has relayed remarks that a delay in rebuilding the eastern Libyan city of Derna and maintaining proper upkeep of its dams led to the massive devastation of the city during Storm Daniel.

The impact of the storm - in which at least 2,300 people are believed to have died and 10,000 are said to be missing - was compounded by the collapse of two dams in the Derna valley, leading to neighbourhoods being wiped out, according to reports.

Al-Wasat cited two Libyan analysts making these remarks, in an article published 12 September., external

"The security chaos and Libyan authorities' laxity in carrying out close monitoring of safety measures, of the dams, led to the catastrophe in Derna," it quoted economic expert Mohammed Ahmed as telling the website.

"Both factors will continue to lead to more catastrophes, not only in relation to the water sector, but also energy," he said.

He added that questions had persisted over the implementation of safety procedures in many old facilities, where, he said, maintenance had not been carried out for some time.

Image source, Reuters

There are some harrowing tales of survival coming out of Derna, where torrential rain burst two dams and sent floodwaters surging through the city.

Safia Mustafa, a mother of two sons, told Reuters news agency that they managed to flee their home before the building collapsed. They climbed to the roof and leapt across to neighbouring blocks to escape. Her son, Obai, 10, said he was praying to God for their survival.

Saliha Abu Bakr, a lawyer, said water quickly engulfed their building, almost reaching the ceiling of her home on the third floor. For what felt like three hours, she held a piece of furniture trying to stay afloat. After the flood waters receded, she and her two sisters were able to leave the building, but it collapsed shortly after with her mother's body inside.

Brian Lander, the deputy director of emergencies at the UN's World Food Programme, said they were still assessing the extent of help required but had food supplies for 5,000 families.

He said people have lost homes and food will be an urgent need for those who "have lost everything in the flooding".

At the moment "we don't necessarily have a good understanding of the scope" of the situation, he said, but added his team were "standing ready" to provide food for the thousands affected by the floods in the northeast.

In a press conference, Libya's PM Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah has said the country is assessing the aid offers from the international community to ensure coordination.

"There were multiple offers of help and we will only accept aid that is necessary," Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.

The two rival administrations of Libya have displayed a rare sign of solidarity in their rescue and relief response to the devastation caused by Storm Daniel.

Libya's internationally recognised government which operates from the country's capital city of Tripoli, sent planes with aid supplies to the eastern part of the country which is ruled by a rival parliament, BBC Monitoring reports.

The prime minister of Libya's Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, shared that a plane carrying medical personnel and 14 tonnes of supplies had been sent to the eastern city of Benghazi.

Libya's parallel parliament - the east-based House of Representatives (HoR) formed by Prime Minister Osama Hammad had originally offered separate instruction to people in his jurisdiction who have been the hardest hit by Storm Daniel.

Today's parcel of aid has been the only sign of solidarity, however, and there has been no other indication of a wider political breakthrough.

We've just had a statement from UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, in which he says his thoughts are with those affected by the "catastrophic flooding in eastern Libya".

He adds:

Image source, Getty Images

A survivor of the flood in Derna says he heard an explosion during the night. He believes it was the sound of the nearby dam rupturing.

"At first we just thought it was heavy rain but at midnight we heard a huge explosion and it was the dam bursting," Raja Sassi said.

He told the Reuters news agency that he survived the flood with his wife and small daughter after water reached the upper floor of their home, but the rest of his family died.