The international body released USD$10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund at the same time that it called for increased assistance for about 250,000 people, out of a total of 884,000 in need.

Martin Griffiths, UN Humanitarian Coordinator, on Thursday described the magnitude of the disaster as “shocking and heartbreaking”.

Entire neighborhoods have been wiped off the map, thousands of people have died, tens of thousands have been left homeless and many more are still missing, he said.

The representative assured the UN is on the ground deploying a fierce rescue team to support and resource the international response, in coordination with relief workers and Libyan authorities.

The Director of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Petteri Taalas, on the other hand, warned such a tragedy shows the devastating and cascading consequences of extreme weather in fragile States.

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