Video and image footage from the Libyan coastal city of Derna reveals the devastating extent of the destruction after two consecutive dams burst in the middle of the night, unleashing a torrent of stormwater into the densely built city center.
Key points:
- The Libyan Red Crescent estimates that 11,300 people have died
- The affected area in Derna had a population of 30,000, Libya's ambassador to the UN said.
- Functional weather agency could have prevented mass deaths, World Meteorological Organization said
A 7-meter wave of water swept away buildings and swept infrastructure into the sea, said Yann Fridez, head of the Libyan delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who had a team in Derna when the floods hit.
"This disaster was violent and brutal," Fridez said.
Death figures provided by officials vary, but the Libyan Red Crescent said that as of Thursday 11,300 people have died and another 10,100 are missing.
Libya's ambassador to the United Nations, Taher El-Sonni, said 6,000 bodies have been found, but the number is likely to continue to rise.
"The affected area had a population of 30,000 inhabitants," El-Sonni said.
"I can't really confirm the final numbers, but it's a really high level and magnitude, and I'm afraid we'll hear really big numbers, maybe even higher than what's been confirmed so far."
Deaths could have been avoided, says WMO
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the huge death toll could have been avoided if Libya, a country mired in conflict for the past decade, had had a functioning meteorological agency.
"If there had been a weather service functioning normally, they could have issued warnings," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in Geneva.
"Emergency management authorities would have been able to evacuate people. And we could have avoided most of the human casualties."
Mohamed al-Menfi, head of the three-member council that serves as the presidency of Libya's internationally recognized government, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the council had asked the attorney general to investigate the disaster.
Those whose actions or inaction were responsible for the dam's failure must be held accountable, along with anyone who stopped the aid, he said.
A research paper published last year by a hydrologist described the The city's vulnerability to flooding. and the urgent need to maintain the 50-year-old dams that protected it.
Emergency funds released
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it will release $2 million ($3 million) from its emergency fund to support victims.
"The health needs of survivors are increasingly urgent," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
At least 30,000 people have been displaced in Derna, as well as several thousand more in other eastern cities, the U.N. International Organization for Migration said.
The UN humanitarian office has issued an emergency appeal for $71.4 million.
Families swept into the sea
Wali Eddin Mohamed Adam, 24, a Sudanese brick factory worker who lives on the outskirts of Derna, woke up to the sound of water on the night of the storm and ran to the city center to discover it was gone. .
Nine of his co-workers died and about 15 more lost their families, he said.
"They were all swept down the valley towards the sea," he said.
"May God have mercy on them and grant them heaven."
Another Sudanese worker, Wali Eddin Mohamed, told Reuters how he woke up in the early hours of Monday to a loud bang.
"The water was incredible, everyone could hear it. When we left there was no city, it had been razed," he said.
"There are about 14 or 15 families that were swept away by the sea. Anyone who was in the valley was swept away."
Challenging rescue effort
Rescue work has been challenging due to loss of infrastructure, flood debris and political fractures in the country of seven million people.
The floods destroyed or severely damaged many of the access roads to Derna, making it difficult to deliver aid to rescue teams.
In recent days, local authorities were able to clear some routes to allow humanitarian convoys access to the city.
Libya has been in chaos since 2011, when dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in a NATO-backed uprising.
Since then, rival powers have been at war on and off, and no government has managed to achieve national reach.
An internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) operates in the capital Tripoli in western Libya, while a rival government led by the Libyan National Army operates from Benghazi in the east.
Derna has been particularly unstable, as the city was under the control of different Islamist groups, including the Islamic State, before coming under the eastern government.
The disaster has created a rare moment of unity, as GNU officials are expected to visit Benghazi on Tuesday to discuss relief efforts.
While the eastern government leads relief efforts, the GNU has allocated the equivalent of $412 million for the reconstruction of eastern cities.
Climate experts have linked the disaster to the impacts of a warming planet, combined with Libya's decaying infrastructure.
storm daniel forces gathered during an unusually hot summer that previously hit Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece, flooding vast areas and killing at least 27 people.
"Storm Daniel is another deadly reminder of the catastrophic impact that a changing climate can have on our world," said UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk.
ABC/wires
