In Libya, a massive storm from the Mediterranean caused widespread flooding, leading to a tragic loss of life and significant destruction.
More than 2,000 people have lost their lives, and there are concerns for the safety of at least 10,000 who are currently missing.
This natural disaster has struck a country already grappling with over a decade of conflict, leaving it divided and in disarray.
The city of Derna, with a population of approximately 125,000, was hit hard by the floods.
Reporters from Reuters witnessed entire neighborhoods reduced to ruins, buildings swept away, and cars flipped upside down in streets filled with mud and debris after dams burst due to the storm’s intensity.
In one district of Derna, the director of Wahda Hospital, Mohamad al-Qabisi, reported that 1,700 people had lost their lives, while 500 had perished in the other district.
The situation was so dire that bodies were laid out on the streets outside overwhelmed hospitals, as desperate residents searched under the shrouds covering them for their loved ones.
Similar scenes of destruction were witnessed on the road leading to Derna, with overturned vehicles, fallen trees, and flooded and abandoned houses.
Hichem Abu Chkiouat, the Minister of Civil Aviation in the eastern administration, declared, “Bodies are lying everywhere – in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings,” emphasizing that around 25% of the city had been wiped out, with many buildings collapsing.
“I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city has disappeared.
Many, many buildings have collapsed.”
Abu Chkiouat later expressed concerns that the death toll across the country could exceed 2,500 as the number of missing individuals continued to rise.
The impact of the storm extended to other eastern cities, including Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, which also suffered significant damage.
Tamer Ramadan, leading a delegation from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, warned that the death toll would be substantial.
“We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 so far,” he told reporters via video link.
The United Nations responded by mobilizing emergency teams to provide assistance on the ground.
Countries like Turkey sent aid to Libya, including search and rescue equipment, boats, generators, and food supplies.
As the storm intensified during the evening, many residents in Derna were caught off guard.
Mostafa Salem, who lost 30 of his relatives, shared that people were asleep when the situation worsened.
They received alerts about rising water levels at one of the dams, but by then, it was too late for many.
At Tripoli airport, a woman received a devastating phone call informing her that most of her family members were either dead or missing.
Walid Abdulati, her brother-in-law, emphasized that this was not just about one or two casualties; many families had lost up to ten members.
Karim al-Obaidi, a passenger on a flight from Tripoli to the east, expressed his fear and anxiety, having lost contact with all his family, friends, and neighbors.
Naval teams were dispatched to search for families swept into the sea in Derna, according to an interior ministry spokesperson.
Libyan TV showed people searching for bodies, with men in a rubber boat retrieving one from the sea.
Ambulance worker Khalifah Touil pleaded for urgent help, saying they lacked the necessary equipment to save people.
“We have nothing to save people … no machines…we are asking for urgent help,” said ambulance worker Khalifah Touil.
Derna is normally protected from flooding by dams and is bisected by a seasonal river.
However, a video on social media showed a collapsed dam upstream of the city, surrounded by muddy water.
This raised concerns, as a hydrologist’s research paper from last year had warned about the threat of repeated flooding in Derna and called for maintaining the dams.
“If a huge flood happens the result will be catastrophic for the people of the wadi and the city,” the paper said.
World leaders, including Pope Francis, expressed their sadness over the loss of lives and destruction in Libya.
The country has been politically divided between the East and West, with public services deteriorating since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that led to years of internal conflict.
Although the internationally recognized government in Tripoli does not control eastern regions, it has dispatched aid to Derna, with relief flights departing from Misrata in the west.
The Norway Refugee Council reported that tens of thousands of people have been displaced, with little hope of returning to their homes.
