OFFICIALS in Libya warned on Monday that a disease outbreak in the north-east of the country, where floods have killed thousands, could create “a second devastating crisis” as adults and children fall ill from contaminated water.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said that it was particularly concerned about water contamination and the lack of sanitation after two dams collapsed during Mediterranean Storm Daniel.

The collapse of the dams sent a deluge of water gushing through the eastern city of Derna on September 11. 

Government officials and aid agencies have predicted that the death toll from the disaster could reach 20,000.

Nine UN agencies responding to the disaster are working to prevent diseases from taking hold and creating another crisis in the devastated country, which is receiving 28 tons of medical supplies from the World Health Organisation, the mission said.

Libya’s Centre for Combating Diseases head Haider al-Saeih said on Saturday that at least 150 people suffered diarrhoea after drinking contaminated water in Derna.

The International Organisation for Migration said on Monday that about 40,000 people have been displaced across north-east Libya, including 30,000 in Derna. 

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since a United States attack in 2011 led to the overthrow of the government and the killing of long-time leader Muammar Gadaffi.

Since 2014, the country has been divided between rival administrations which have rarely co-operated with each other. 

On this occasion the opposing administrations have both deployed humanitarian teams to the port city and other affected areas, but poor co-ordination, difficulty getting aid to the hardest-hit areas and the destruction of Derna’s infrastructure, including several bridges, have hampered their efforts.

On Saturday, Libya’s general prosecutor Al-Sediq al-Sour opened an investigation into the collapse of the two dams, built in the 1970s, as well as the allocation of maintenance funds.