In the wake of a flash flood that has been likened to a tsunami, emergency teams in the Libyan city of Derna are racing against time to find thousands of people missing after the disaster killed at least 4,000. take
The floods, triggered by the surge of water from two upstream dams, have turned Derna into a nightmarish wasteland, with whole city blocks washed away and an unknown number of people swept into the Mediterranean.
The central neighborhoods on both banks of the river, which are normally dry during this season, now bear the marks of this natural disaster, resembling the trail of destruction left by a mighty steamroller. Trees, buildings and vehicles have been uprooted, some of which now remain on the harbor breakwater.
Survivors recall the horror of the sudden rise in water levels, with one man describing the terrifying experience of being swept away with his mother. “The water was rising with us until we reached the fourth floor, the water was up to the second floor,” he said.
As the city reeled from the damage, hundreds of body bags lined the mud-covered streets, awaiting mass burial. Grieving residents wander the rubble-strewn streets in search of missing loved ones, while bulldozers work tirelessly to clear piles of rubble and sand.
Yann Fredez, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’ delegation to Libya, called the destruction “violent and brutal”, noting the destruction of buildings and infrastructure. Families are still searching for missing relatives and floodwaters have begun washing bodies ashore.
The devastation was compounded by Hurricane Daniel, which was exacerbated by Libya’s fragile infrastructure, which has struggled since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Many lives could have been saved if early warning and emergency management systems had worked properly, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said. The head of the organization is Petri Talas.
Access to Derna is severely hampered due to extensive damage to roads, bridges and essential facilities. Climate experts have attributed the disaster to a changing climate and Libya’s deteriorating infrastructure.
Cyclone Daniel, which intensified during an unusually hot summer, has already wreaked havoc in Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece, causing widespread flooding and deaths.
UN rights commissioner Volker Turk stressed that it serves as a “serious reminder of the devastating effects of climate change on our world.”
