UN says death toll from Libya floods includes 400 migrants
GENEVA : A U.N. humanitarian office report said on Tuesday that some 400 migrants were killed in the floods that hit eastern Libya last week, citing hospital reports. The report quoted the U.N. health agency, the World Health Organization, as saying that 4,000 deaths had so far been reported in Libya by hospitals, including 400 migrants. Thousands of African and Middle Eastern migrants are temporarily based in Libya and many make the perilous Mediterranean crossing each year to flee poverty and conflict. The International Organization for Migration had previously said that over 100,000 migrants lived in flood-hit areas, including more than 8,000 in the city of Derna. (Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by William Maclean)
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 18:55 UTC
East Libya Strongman Keeps Tight Control Over Aid After Floods
Days after a torrential downpour collapsed two aging dams and unleashed a rushing wall of water that swept parts of the Libyan city of Derna and thousands of its people into the sea, the military strongman who rules the area came for a quick visit. Khalifa Hifter, the 79-year-old renegade commander and longtime C.I.A. asset shook hands with soldiers, took a brief drive through Derna’s muddy streets and flew off in a helicopter. The disaster that struck Derna on Sept. 11 has drawn renewed international attention to Mr. Hifter and his so-called Libyan National Army, a military coalition that controls the eastern half of the divided North African nation with an iron fist. More than a week after the disaster, as rescue efforts shift to the long and costly work of caring for the displaced and helping the city recover, Mr. Hifter’s tight hold over eastern Libya has made it clear that he will be the overall arbiter of the aid operation in the oil-rich country.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 18:27 UTC
Climate change made Libya's flooding even more devastating: Scientists
The analysis was conducted by the World Weather Attribution group, which aims to quickly evaluate the possible role of climate change in extreme weather events. What's more, the dams might not have been designed to withstand such an extreme rainfall in the first place, they say. To assess the role of climate change, researchers then combined observations of rainfall and climate models to determine if there had been changes in the likelihood and intensity of those maximum rainfalls. University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann, who was not involved in the analysis, said such weather attribution studies are somewhat useful but don't capture all the ways that climate change affects weather events. "For this reason, my belief is that these attribution studies actually underestimate the impact human-caused climate change is having on these events, Mann said in an email.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 18:14 UTC
Libya’s flood disaster was partly man-made
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Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 17:26 UTC
Libya flood: Derna mayor's house burnt down in protests
The mayor's home in the Libyan city of Derna has been burnt down, as hundreds of protesters demanded answers for last week's catastrophic flood. They gathered on Monday night at the city's landmark Sahaba Mosque, many chanting for top officials in Libya's eastern government to be sacked. On Tuesday, the day after the protests, a minister in eastern Libya's government announced that all journalists had been asked to leave Derna, and accused them of hampering the work of rescue teams. Monday's rallies at the Sahaba Mosque - itself partially damaged by flooding - were the biggest seen since the floods hit, and there are suggestions the protest has some institutional backing. Claudia Gazzini of International Crisis Group in Libya told BBC Newsday.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 16:49 UTC
How climate change worsened the catastrophic flood in Libya
But the scientists noted that climate change alone didn’t create a catastrophe that killed thousands of people. Similar studies have found such fingerprints on floods in Nigeria and Pakistan, while another concluded that climate change did not influence a food crisis in Madagascar. “The more extreme the precipitation, the bigger of a relative effect we see from climate change,” Lehner said. AdvertisementIn Libya, climate change has meant a decline in average annual rainfall, stressing a need to store as much water as possible. But the researchers said that meant a lack of consideration about what could happen if an extreme storm such as Storm Daniel came along.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 16:35 UTC
Today's top news: Libya, Ukraine, Syria
The agency has also delivered emergency medical kits to primary care services to support 15,000 people for three months. WHO has shipped 28 tons of medical supplies and donated ambulances and medical kits. SyriaToday, a humanitarian convoy arrived in Idleb, north-west Syria, from southern Türkiye through the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing. OCHA also made a routine monitoring visit to hospitals supported by the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund. So far this year, more than 4,000 trucks with UN aid have crossed from Türkiye to north-west Syria using the Bab Al-Hawa, Bab Al-Salam and Al Ra’ae border crossings.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 16:34 UTC
Libya Flooding Could Create Second Crisis Due To Disease
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Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 16:25 UTC
Climate change made storm that devastated Libya far more likely and intense, scientists say
The analysis was conducted by the World Weather Attribution group, which aims to quickly evaluate the possible role of climate change in extreme weather events. What’s more, the dams might not have been designed to withstand such an extreme rainfall in the first place, they say. To assess the role of climate change, researchers then combined observations of rainfall and climate models to determine if there had been changes in the likelihood and intensity of those maximum rainfalls. Even so, the attribution analysis’ approach is useful to those who must act on climate change, including deciding how to build infrastructure that’ll be in place for decades to come, he said. “For this reason, my belief is that these attribution studies actually underestimate the impact human-caused climate change is having on these events,” Mann said in an email.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 16:21 UTC
Libyan leader says flooded city has been divided to create buffers in case of disease outbreaks
DERNA, Libya (AP) — Authorities have divided Libya’s flood-stricken city of Derna into four sections to create buffers in case of disease outbreaks, the prime minister of Libya’s eastern administration said Tuesday, a day after thousands of angry protesters demanded the city’s rapid reconstruction. Government officials and aid agencies have given death tolls ranging from about 4,000 to 11,000, with thousands more missing. Both authorities have deployed humanitarian teams to the city but have struggled to respond to the large-scale disaster. The recovery operation, with help from international teams, has been poorly coordinated, and residents say aid distribution has been uneven. “Thousands of people in Derna, Libya lost their lives in epic, unprecedented flooding.”___Associated Press writer Jack Jeffery in London and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 15:53 UTC
It is time for a global compromise: UN chief recalls his message to G20 leaders
As I told the G20, it is time for a global compromise. Effective leadership is compromise,” said the UN chief, who was in India earlier this month to attend the New Delhi G20 summit. He underscored that leaders have a special responsibility to achieve compromise in building a common future of peace and prosperity for our common good. Ignoring global treaties and conventions makes us all less safe,” he said, adding that poisoning of global diplomacy obstructs progress across the board. “This is the only path to affordable renewable energy for all.” Guterres said despite the world’s long list of global challenges, the spirit of “determination can guide us forward.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 15:37 UTC
Confusion as some journalists asked to leave Libya’s flood-hit Derna
Derna authorities say there are so many journalists in the city that they pose an obstacle to the work of rescue teams. Different accounts are coming out of eastern Libya after some news networks reported that their journalists had been asked by authorities to leave the flood-hit city of Derna. 🚨#Urgent | We have lost contact with all international and local journalists inside #Derna since 3:00 AM. Derna is in a complete connection blackout A voice from Derna who managed to leave the city “In a sudden decision. The government administering eastern Libya said Ghaithi had been suspended as mayor and all members of the Derna city council had been dismissed from their posts and referred to investigators.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 14:19 UTC
'Devastating disaster': Study links climate change and horrific flood that killed thousands
Thousands of people died in a horrific flood in Libya earlier this month, a tragedy that was worsened by human-caused climate change, a study released Tuesday found. The study was prepared by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group, which does quick analyses of weather and climate events to determine what, if any, role human-caused climate change may have had. Scientists used established peer-reviewed methods to determine the contribution of climate change to the floods. The interaction of these factors, and the very heavy rain that was worsened by climate change, created the extreme death and destruction, the study said. Human-induced climate change is loading the dice, enhancing the ability of tropical cyclones and similar storms to produce extreme rain as they draw more water vapor out of oceans into a warming atmosphere."
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 14:03 UTC
Libya, Greece Flooding Connected To Climate Change
PlayAt a Glance World Weather Attribution analyzed recent flooding in Libya, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. The study found that extreme rainfall in Libya was made up to 50 times more likely by climate change. Climate change made extreme rainfall that caused recent catastrophic flooding in Libya up to 50 times more likely to happen, according to an international panel of scientists. T​he conclusions were announced Tuesday morning by World Weather Attribution, which looks at the connections between extreme weather and climate change. -​There are some uncertainties in the numbers, but the WWA scientists say they are confident climate change played a role.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 14:00 UTC
Egyptian, Albanian FMs confer over economic cooperation, regional issues
Minister Shokry commended Albania's efforts on the front of reinforcing peace, stability, and regional integration in Balkans, and its achievements during the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2020. That is in addition to its growing and positive role in the framework of NATO since it became member in 2009. They also conferred over the events in Sahel countries, and their impact on regional stability, as well as illegal migration, and circumstances in Europe and Balkans. Minister Hasani lauded the sacrifices made by Egypt in its war on terror, pointing out that Albania was also deploying efforts to combat radicalism. On another level, the Albanian minister invited his Egyptian counterpart for a visit.
Source:Libya Today
September 19, 2023 12:28 UTC