Libya’s deadly floods: what we know

This handout picture released on the account of the Libyan Red Crescent on the X (formerly Twitter) platform on September 13, 2023, shows a general view of destruction in the wake of floods after the Mediterranean storm “Daniel” hit Libya’s eastern city of Derna. (Photo by Libyan Red Crescent / AFP)

By Rim Taher | Agence France-Presse

Flash flooding in east Libya caused by Storm Daniel tore through the coastal city of Derna, leaving more than 3,000 people dead, 10,000 missing, and entire neighborhoods in ruins.

This is what we know so far about the extreme storm and flash flooding that hit the war-torn North African country.

 

Dams burst 

On Sunday afternoon, Storm Daniel made landfall on Libya’s east coast after earlier lashing Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey.

It touched Benghazi before veering towards the Jabal al-Akhdar district towns of Shahat, Al-Marj, Al-Bayda, Susa and Derna, devastating that city of 100,000 people.

Derna lies in a river wadi 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.

Overnight, two dams on Wadi Derna burst, unleashing torrents of water that destroyed bridges and swept away entire neighborhoods before spilling into the Mediterranean.

Roads that were already in a poor state were cut, and access to some affected areas became impossible.

 

Huge toll 

Officials in the east of the divided country give different toll estimates, with one speaking of at least 3,840 dead.

However, most fear the figure will be far higher.

Tamer Ramadan of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Tuesday “the death toll is huge and might reach thousands”, with another 10,000 missing.

The International Organization for Migration on Wednesday said over 38,640 people were displaced in the hardest-hit areas of northeastern Libya, including at least 30,000 in Derna, 3,000 in Al-Bayda and 2,195 in Benghazi.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said late Thursday an estimated 884,000 people directly impacted by the storm and flash floods in five provinces need assistance.

 

Authorities mobilize 

The authorities in Libya’s east and west, faced by the appalling human and material devastation caused by the floods, have mobilized, taking emergency measures to come to the aid of those stricken by the disaster.

Aid convoys from Tripolitania in the west have been sent to Derna.

The internationally recognised Tripoli government of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah said it was sending two air ambulances and a helicopter, as well as rescuers, 87 doctors, canine search teams and workers to try to restore electricity.

 

This handout picture released on the account of the Libyan Red Crescent on the X (formerly Twitter) platform on September 13, 2023, shows a general view of destruction in the wake of floods after the Mediterranean storm “Daniel” hit Libya’s eastern city of Derna. (Photo by Libyan Red Crescent / AFP)

 

International response 

Relief missions have gathered pace with Turkey, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates among the first nations to rush aid to the disaster-hit country.

The United Nations has launched an appeal for more than $71 million to aid the hundreds of thousands in need.

The world body also called for a sea corridor to be established for emergency relief and evacuations.

The European Union said assistance from Germany, Romania and Finland had been dispatched including hospital tents and power generators, as well as food, water tanks and blankets.

Two planes from Germany landed at the eastern airport of Al Abraq with 30 tonnes of relief supplies.

The United States, Algeria, Qatar, Italy, France, and Tunisia have all also offered assistance.

The United Arab Emirates sent two aid planes carrying 150 tonnes of food, relief, and medical supplies.

Kuwait sent a plane with 40 tonnes of supplies, and Jordan sent a military aircraft loaded with food parcels, tents, blankets, and mattresses.

Egypt’s armed forces chief of staff, an ally of east Libya military strongman Khalifa Haftar, flew to Benghazi on Tuesday aboard a plane loaded with relief supplies and personnel, reports said.

 

‘Medicane’ 

Storm Daniel gathered strength during an unusually hot summer and earlier lashed Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece, flooding vast areas and killing at least 27 people.

Climate experts say it bears the features of tropical cyclones and hurricanes known as “medicanes” which tend to form in the Mediterranean near the North African coast.

Medicanes form once or twice per year on average, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

While scientists generally avoid direct links between individual weather events and long-term global warming, Storm Daniel “is illustrative of the type of devastating flooding event we may expect increasingly in the future”, said Lizzie Kendon, a climate science professor at the University of Bristol.

The EU’s climate monitoring service Copernicus said rising global sea surface temperatures were driving record levels of heat across the globe, with 2023 likely to be the warmest in human history.

-ag

Popular

WALANG PASOK: Class suspensions for July 4 due to heavy rains

Classes in the following areas have been suspended on Friday, July 4, due to the impact of the southwest monsoon (habagat) and the...

PBBM to study DILG Sec. Remulla’s request to declare class suspensions

By Brian Campued Malacañang on Thursday assured Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Sec. Jonvic Remulla that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will...

WALANG PASOK: Class suspensions for July 3 due to inclement weather

Classes in the following areas have been suspended on Thursday, July 3, due to the impact of the southwest monsoon (habagat) and the...

Palace reacts to China’s ban on ex-Sen. Tolentino, former Pres. spox Roque statement; issues updates on probe of ‘missing sabungeros’

By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet At the Palace press briefing held this Wednesday, July 2, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro...