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In the Libyan city of Derna, entire neighbourhoods and their residents have vanished, feared swept out to sea by what has been described as a wall of water, after Storm Daniel caused two dams and four bridges to collapse.
The city, which is home to around 100,000 people and lies in a river valley on the north-east coast of the country, has been hit by the storm as it crossed the Mediterranean after causing deadly flooding in Greece, Hungary and Turkiye.
Libya is currently governed by two rival governments in the east and west, with the prime minister of the parallel government in the east, Osama Hammad, declaring the area a disaster zone.
Military Spokesman for the eastern government Ahmed Al-Mismari has put the number of dead and injured at a high figure, which has not been independently verified.
“In the city of Derna alone, there are more than two thousand deceased, and we pray for their souls. There are still thousands of missing people in Derna, from five to six thousand missing, and this number can increase very significantly."
Mr Al-Mismari says that that the collapsing dams have swept away whole neighbourhoods with residents into the sea.
The Libyan Red Crescent has said three of its workers have died trying to help people in Derna.
Witnesses said the water level had reached three metres, with videos of Derna showing a wide torrent running through the city centre, with people stranded on the roofs of their vehicles calling for help.
Dr Hani Shennib is the president of the National Council on U-S Libya Relations.
He has told Al Jazeera that the city is isolated, with much of its historic centre completely destroyed.
"Everything is cut off completely, there's no internet access, there's no electricity and the magnitude of the disaster that has happened in the city is just growing by the minute. About four square kilometres of the heart of the city have been eroded completely."
Storm Daniel brought more than 400 millimetres of rain in 24 hours in some parts of the country, including Libya's second largest city Benghazi, and causing four major oil ports to close for three nights.
With Libya's rival governments both announcing three days of national mourning, towns and cities across the country's east have called for help.
Bayda city councillor Safieldin Buheiba has called for urgent assistance in the city around 100 kilometres to the east of Derna.
"We announce with regret that the situation is completely out of control. We call on all government officials to intervene to save what can be saved. Governments are responsible for people's lives, we request the security services to provide assistance."
Libya, which sits on Africa's largest-known oil reserves, has had two governments since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that prompted years of conflict, which has largely affected the country’s development and access to aid.
Prime Minister of the internationally-recognised administration in Tripoli, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, has told Al Jazeera that he has sent teams of emergency workers from Western Libya.
"I've instructed the ministry of health and all relevant agencies to quickly provide assistance, relief convoys will be dispatched to all cities affected by this incident. We'll respond with all available resources."
The United Nations, the U-S, France and Turkiye have offered to help in the relief efforts, as forecasters predict more storms are on their way.
