2023-09-13 13:52:15
Eastern Libya was devastated by floods that claimed more than 2,300 lives in the town of Derna alone during Storm Daniel on Sunday, according to authorities.
• Read also: Cataclysm in Libya: images show the before and following on the ground
• Read also: More than 5,300 dead in floods in Derna
What happened?
On Sunday followingnoon, this storm reached the eastern coast of Libya, affecting the metropolis of Benghazi before heading east towards the cities of Jabal al-Akhdar (north-east), such as Shahat (Cyrene), al-Marj, al-Bayda and Soussa (Apollonia) but especially Derna, the most devastated city.
During the night from Sunday to Monday, the two dams on Wadi Derna, which retain the waters of the wadi which crosses Derna, failed. Powerful torrents destroyed bridges and swept away entire neighborhoods with their inhabitants on both sides of the wadi, before flowing into the Mediterranean.
The roads, in poor condition, are cut and access to the disaster sites is impossible.
Why so many deaths in Derna?
According to statistics provided by the emergency services under the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, storm Daniel left more than 2,300 dead in the city of Derna alone, devastated and cut off from the world, but authorities in the East fear a death toll much heavier, with at least 30,000 people displaced, as well as 3,000 in al-Bayda and more than 2,000 in Benghazi, towns located further west.
An official from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported an “enormous” number of deaths which might number in the thousands, with 10,000 missing. Other officials cite more than 10,000 deaths.
Dilapidated infrastructure, construction in violation of urban planning rules over the last decade and a lack of preparation for this type of disaster have transformed this city into an open-air cemetery, according to experts.
After the revolt that ended 42 years of dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya sank into chaos and division between East and West.
Taking advantage of the chaos, militias set up in the cities, some belonging to the radical Islamic movement such as in Derna with “Ansar al-Sharia” then the jihadists of the Islamic State group chased out in 2018 by the forces of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strong man from the East.
Mobilization of authorities
Monday morning, faced with the scale of the damage and the devastation, the country’s authorities, both those in the East and those installed in the capital Tripoli in the West, took emergency measures to try to help to the disaster victims.
Aid convoys from Tripolitania in the west were sent to Derna. The Tripoli government led by Abdelhamid Dbeibah announced the dispatch of two ambulance planes and a helicopter, 87 doctors, a team of rescuers and dog searchers as well as technicians from the National Electricity Company to try to quickly restore the disconnected power.
International humanitarian aid is organized
After the messages of condolences and support, the UN and many countries, notably the United States, Italy, France, Qatar, Egypt, Tunisia, said they were ready to help local rescuers, overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster, according to images filmed by residents, showing an apocalyptic landscape.
The European Commission announced on Wednesday the sending of aid — via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism — from Germany, Romania and Finland to the town of Derna.
This aid consists of tents, camp beds, blankets, 80 electric generators, foodstuffs, hospital tents and water tanks, specifies a press release from the Commission.
Rescue teams sent by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have already arrived in eastern Libya, according to authorities.
The chief of staff of the Egyptian armies, a great political and military ally of Marshal Haftar, traveled to Benghazi on Tuesday aboard a plane carrying aid and relief personnel, indicating that the Egyptian army was prepared to establish an “air bridge”, according to media reports.
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