More than 43,000 people are displaced following the floods that devastated eastern Libya last week, especially in the city of Derna. The figures were revealed today by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

"According to the latest IOM estimates, 43,059 people have been displaced by flooding in northeastern Libya," the UN agency said in its latest report on the situation in eastern Libya.

The passage of Storm Daniel through the country on the night of September 10-11 caused flooding and the destruction of two dams, creating a tsunami-like wave of water that flooded and destroyed the city of Derna.

Government authorities and humanitarian agencies report that the death toll ranges from around 4,000 to 11,000, with thousands more missing, in addition to the more than 43,000 people who have had to flee their homes.

According to the organization, quoted by Lusa, "the lack of water supply has led many displaced people to leave Derna and go to other cities in the east and west".

The Libyan authorities have asked the town's population to stop using water from the local distribution network, justifying the request with the contamination of the network by the floods.

The UN announced earlier this week that its agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO), are working to "prevent the spread of disease and avoid a second devastating crisis in the region", warning of a risk from "contaminated water and poor hygiene".

The urgent needs of the displaced people include "food, drinking water, mental health and psychosocial support", added the IOM.

On the other hand, mobile communications and internet networks were restored in Derna this morning after a 24-hour outage, the Libyan authorities announced.

Communications were cut off on Tuesday and journalists were asked to leave the city, a day after a citizens' demonstration demanding that the authorities in the east of the country be held accountable for the disaster.

The authorities claimed that there had been a "fiber optic break", but according to analysts, it was a deliberate cut to impose a "blackout" after the extensive media coverage of the demonstration the previous day.

Thousands of Libyans gathered outside the al-Shabana mosque in Derna on Monday in the first mass demonstration since the floods, calling for a speedy investigation into the disaster and the urgent reconstruction of the city.

In the evening, the city's former mayor, Abdel-Moneim al-Gaithi, said that his house had been set on fire by demonstrators.