Libya continues to assess the damage caused by catastrophic flooding in the north of the country.
Photo: REUTERS
THE DAM HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED FOR 20 YEARS
Libya continues to assess the damage caused by catastrophic flooding in the north of the country. On Sunday, two dams on the Wadi Derna River burst, flooding the city of Derna, with a population of 79,000 people. Given the number of flooded neighborhoods, the death toll may grow to 20 thousand- said the mayor of Derna Abdel-Moneim Al-Ghaiti.
The dams have not been properly maintained since 2002, media are now reporting. Last year in researchers’ report from Omar Al-Mukhtar University said that both dams require urgent repairs, noting that the risk of flooding in the coming year is very high. However, no action was ever taken.
FLOW OF MUD AND WATER
Downtown Derna now resembles land “flattened by a steamroller,” witnesses say. Trees were uprooted, buildings and bridges were destroyed.
“The streams of water were filled with mud, trees, pieces of iron, the waves traveled for kilometers before carrying away or burying everything that was in their path,” he said AFP Abdelaziz Bars. – “I lost friends, loved ones. They are either buried under the mud or carried out to sea by the waves.”
The flooding has led to the movement of dangerous munitions throughout the city, remaining in the eastern part of the city from the Libyan civil war, which ended in 2020. The International Committee of the Red Cross in Libya called on survivors and rescuers to be extremely careful when moving around the city.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized in his address that the disaster in Libya is related to climate change and is one of a series of extreme floods. In recent months, they have caused thousands of deaths and destruction around the world – in Greece, Brazil and Hong Kong.
INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE
World Health Organization (WHO) said it would release $2 million from its emergency fund to support victims, calling the floods a “disaster of epic proportions.”
Türkiye sent ship with equipment to create two field hospitals. Italy sent three planes carrying supplies and personnel, as well as two warships. However, problems arose with unloading the latter, since the port of Derna, clogged with debris, was practically unusable.
