11 000 lives lost in Libya floods, 20 000 still missing

By: Natasha Archary

More than 11 000 lives have been lost in Libya, following the devastating floods which swept through the port-side city of Derna.

On Monday, 11 September, heavy rains from Storm Daniel, caused two dams to burst, causing widespread flooding, and wrecking havoc in the city.

Entire buildings were swept away into the sea, as water gushed through Derna, which had a population of 100 000.

Authorities expect the death toll to rise further, as a number of bodies are washing up as the water subsides.

A further 20 000 people are still missing, with thousands more believed to be homeless in the North African country.

The storm which first hit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, brought severe typhoon-like conditions to Libya, including heavy rains.

Aerial footage of the flood’s devastation shows almost 25% of Derna is completely destroyed.

More than 11,000 people have died in Libya’s Derna city, according to the Libyan Red Crescent, after torrential rain from Storm Daniel caused a catastrophic flood.

We look at how and why the disaster unfolded pic.twitter.com/p9h4xSyGLi
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 15, 2023

Bodies are being buried in mass graves, and rescuers have been tirelessly pulling bodies from the sea.

This is the 5th deadly floods to hit Libya since 1942, with the previous one being in 2011.

The United Nations said better warnings could have prevented the devastation in Derna, and had Libya’s meteorological services been operating soundly, emergency management could have carried out evacuations to prevent the loss of so many lives.

Derna’s mayor, Ahmed Madroud told Al Jazeera that both dams had not undergone maintenance since 2002.

Storms, Tornadoes and Floods due to heavy rains destroyed many areas in Libya may Allah have mercy on them #LibyaFlood #LibyaFloods #LIBYA #floods #PAKvsSL #PokemonScarletViolet #help pic.twitter.com/oUVv42QxjM
— Dr. Zeeshan Khan (@DrZeeK23) September 14, 2023