Over 5,000 have died, and at least 10,000 people are missing after two major dams burst during heavy rains in the port city of Derna, Libya.

Tariq al-Kharraz, a spokesperson for the administration that controls eastern Libya, told the Guardian newspaper that flood waters had washed away countless homes, and many who died were swept out to sea.

Videos posted online by residents showed the damage the flooding caused, including the destruction of residential neighborhoods on both river banks, collapsed multistory apartment buildings, and destroyed vehicles piled on each other.

Libyan authorities could not reach Derna, a city of 90,000 residents, until Tuesday because of the flood damage. Local authorities and rescue crews are searching for and attempting to retrieve bodies. 

Othman Abduljaleel, health minister for eastern Libya, told The Associated Press that at least 700 recovered bodies from the natural disaster had been buried.

This is the second major eruption in this part of the world.

Over 2,000 people are dead, and scores are missing due to a 6.8 Richter scale earthquake that rocked a mountain region in Morocco at 11:30 Friday night.

The quake destroyed five provinces at its epicenter near Ighil in Al Haouz province.

The epicenter was in the High Atlas mountains, about 72 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of Marrakech, a popular tourist city of about 840,000 people. The city’s historic walls, first laid out in the early 12th century, have been damaged.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake was the most powerful to shake the area surrounding Marrakech in more than 120 years.

The earthquake toppled buildings and buried cars under heavy rocks, dirt, and debris.

Residents and tourists ran outside seeking shelter, forcing many to sleep in the streets. Many feared that aftershocks would cause more buildings to shake and topple. 

At the same time, some people rode motorbikes and drove cars throughout the city as if nothing had happened.

This follows a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake near the Türkiye (Turkey)-Syria border in the early hours of Monday, February 6, 2022.

The earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria caused one of the biggest disasters to impact the region. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and many were injured. 

Thousands of buildings have collapsed, exposing countless people to unforgiving winter conditions. Schools and hospitals have been destroyed.

Morocco and Turkey are 2,418 miles apart. Libya is 1,516 miles from Morocco.