THE United Nations’ top official in Libya on Monday called for a unified mechanism to lead the reconstruction of a coastal city that was wrecked by devastating floods last month.

UN Special Envoy for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily said in a statement that such a mechanism is required amid “unilateral and competing initiatives” by Libyan actors and institutions on the reconstruction of the Mediterranean city of Derna and other flood-affected areas.

Devastating rainfall and floods, triggered by Mediterranean Storm Daniel, hit parts of eastern Libya last month. 

The floods overwhelmed two dams outside Derna on September 11, causing massive waters that washed away residential buildings to the sea and left as much as one-third of Derna’s housing and infrastructure damaged, according to the UN’s office for co-ordination of humanitarian affairs.

Mr Bathily called for “a unified national mechanism required to effectively and efficiently take forward the reconstruction efforts in the flood-affected areas.”

He urged Libyan rival authorities and their international partners to facilitate the establishment of the unified mechanism to ensure “transparency and accountability.”

Government officials and aid agencies have given estimated death tolls ranging from more than 4,000 to over 11,000. 

The bodies of many of the people killed still are under rubble or in the Mediterranean, according to search teams.