Libya opens investigation into dams' collapse after flood killed thousands
Heavy rains caused by Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding across eastern Libya last weekend. DERNA, LIBYA - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of devastated area after the floods caused by the Storm Daniel ravaged the region in Derna, Libya on September 15, 2023. At least 6,000 people were killed and thousands of others remain missing due to last weekend's floods in eastern Libya, according to official figures. DERNA, LIBYA - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of graves of those who lost their lives in the flood caused by the Storm Daniel ravaged in Derna, Libya on September 15, 2023. Since 2014, eastern Libya has been under the control of Gen. Khalifa Hifter and his self-styled Libyan National Army.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 19:47 UTC
Libya flooding deaths top 11,000 as thousands reported missing
"This is a disaster of epic proportions," Dr. Ahmed Zouiten, a WHO representative in Libya, said in a statement. The Libyan Red Crescent said Friday that at least 11,300 people have died and another 10,100 were reported missing. Eastern Libya's health minister, Othman Abduljaleel, meanwhile said Friday the number of recorded deaths stood at 3,166. An assessment team visiting Derna on Thursday said people were returning to what was left of their homes in desperation. The group's medical coordinator for Libya said the situation is chaotic with volunteers coming from everywhere in Libya to help, leaving an enormous need for coordination.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 19:01 UTC
Libya floods: A barren wasteland with a lingering smell of death
But watching them does prepare you for the scale of the damage the floods have done to this place. The line of the river now gapes like an open wound, perhaps a hundred metres across in places. On these mounds of mud, nothing at all remains. It's a barren wasteland.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 18:53 UTC
Libya investigates dams' collapse after a devastating flood last weekend killed more than 11,000
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Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 18:11 UTC
Libya’s Unnatural Disaster
Read: Photos from Libya’s devastating floodsDerna has become an emblem of ills that afflict many of Libya’s 7 million inhabitants: infrastructural decay, economic neglect, unpreparedness for global warming. Derna’s officials and Haftar’s military authority reportedly issued contradictory instructions as the storm approached: Some advised an evacuation and others ordered a curfew. But Haftar’s style of rule—kleptocratic, authoritarian, extractive—has made for poor stewardship of eastern Libya’s infrastructure and natural environment, leaving other communities vulnerable to climate-induced extreme weather events as well. The authority has taken control of eastern Libya’s agriculture, energy, and construction, with dire consequences for the environment. Those that hit the eastern city of Al-Bayda in late 2020 displaced thousands of people.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 17:13 UTC
Maltese rescue team finds 'hundreds' of dead on Libyan beach
VALLETTA : A Maltese rescue team found hundreds of dead bodies on a beach in the flood-stricken Libyan city of Derna on Friday, the Malta Civil Protection Department said on Saturday. "There were probably about 400, but it is difficult to say," Natalino Bezzina, who is leading the Maltese team, told the Times of Malta newspaper. Malta deployed a team of 72 rescuers from the army and the civil protection department on Wednesday. Bezzina told Maltese media that a small CPD team came across the cave that was half submerged and found bodies inside. Then they came across a small bay filled with debris and several hundred dead bodies.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 16:40 UTC
Aid groups warn of ‘second humanitarian crisis’ in Libya as hopes fade for flood survivors
DERNA, Libya – Aid groups are warning of a growing risk of disease in the wake of deadly flooding that hit eastern Libya on Sept 10. Hopes are meanwhile dwindling of finding more survivors after torrential rain triggered by a hurricane-strength storm hit the area. The flood submerged the port city of Derna, washing thousands of people and homes out to sea. “This is a disaster of epic proportions,” said Mr Ahmed Zouiten, the WHO’s representative in Libya. Islamic Relief warned of a second humanitarian crisis after the flood, pointing to the growing risk of waterborne diseases and shortages of food, shelter and medicine.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 16:35 UTC
Libya floods: ‘They knew’- Govt blamed for dam collapse tragedy that killed over 11,000
An aerial view shows the destruction, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 16. The state knew of this well, whether through experts in the Public Water Commission or the foreign companies that came to assess the dam," he said. In his report, hydrologist Ashour cites an unpublished 2006 study from the Water Resources Ministry on "the danger of the situation." The Turkish company, Arsel, lists a project on its website to repair the Derna dams as having begun in 2007 and been completed in 2012. Even as the catastrophe was unfolding on Sunday night, the Water Resources Ministry issued a post on its Facebook page telling residents not to worry.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 16:09 UTC
Why the media aren’t telling the whole story of Libya’s floods
The BBC and the rest of Britain’s establishment media have been firing out these terms like bullets from a machine gun. But what the BBC and the rest of the Western media have carefully avoided mentioning is why. Slave marketsThe self-congratulatory mood among Britain’s political and media class, burnishing the West’s “humanitarian” credentials, was evident across the media. As Declassified reported, after biding their time British oil giants BP and Shell returned to Libya’s oilfields last year. But with the help of Western media like the BBC, the reasons for their misery remain as murky as the flood waters.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 16:02 UTC
Collapse of 2 dams in Libya floods leads to probe
People search for flood victims in Derna, Libya, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. People search for flood victims in Derna, Libya, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. Search teams are combing streets, wrecked buildings, and even the sea to look for bodies in Derna, where the collapse of two dams unleashed a massive flash flood that killed thousands of people. People search for flood victims in Derna, Libya, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. People search for flood victims in Derna, Libya, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 16:01 UTC
The missed chances to save Libya's flood victims from disaster
Storm Daniel was Greece's worst storm in recorded history but for Libya it would trigger a disaster of unimaginable scale. Facebook Facebook , which may be using cookies and other technologies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Facebook cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Facebook cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Facebook cookies for this session only.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 15:35 UTC
Libya's flood-ravaged Derna struggles to cope with thousands of corpses
"Bodies are littering the streets, washing back on shore and are buried under collapsed buildings and debris. Mohammad al-Qabisi, head of Derna's Wahda Hospital, said a field hospital was treating people with chronic illnesses needing regular attention. "There are still bodies underground ... Now there are corpses starting to smell." The ICRC sent a cargo flight to Benghazi, eastern Libya's largest city, on Friday with 5,000 body bags. "I've heard from my team that there are mass graves where rescue workers were appealing: 'Don't bring us food, don’t bring us water, bring us body bags'," the NRC's Ahmed Bayram said.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 15:01 UTC
Dire Warnings About Libya Dams Went Unheeded
It had been clear for years that the dams protecting Derna, on Libya’s Mediterranean coast, were in danger of giving way. Torrential rains were not new. Decade after decade, they had pounded the area, washing away the soil that helped soak up water as it ran down from the dry hills above town. Climate change had also changed the land, making it drier, harder and increasingly shorn of vegetation, less able to absorb the water before it pooled up dangerously behind the dams. Then, there were the decades of neglect by officials — who knew the dams needed repairs — in a country so torn by years of civil war that it still has two opposing governments: one in the west and another in the east, where Derna lies.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 14:55 UTC
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Libyan authorities open investigation into collapse of dams that killed thousands
Libyan authorities said an investigation into the collapse of two dams on Sunday has begun after flooding brought about by heavy rain killed more than 11,000 people. The UN has launched an appeal for US$71 million to assist the hundreds of thousands in need in Libya. The UK on Saturday announced it was ramping up support for Libya including more money and an emergency medical team. The team, led by health and sanitation experts from NGO UK-Med, will conduct rapid medical assessments in disaster-affected areas. The unit will coordinate with local authorities, international organisations and other partners on the ground.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 14:52 UTC
Libya floods: The Wadi Derna ‘dam of death’ — where people will ‘never forget what happened’
DERNA, Libya — Locals now call Wadi Derna “the dam of death.”In a moment’s notice, the structure unleashed tens of millions of cubic meters of floodwater on Derna’s residents. The torrents swept generational homes and entire families into the Mediterranean sea — leaving onlooking survivors in a state of shock and horror. A road that connected the valley is now shredded — the two sides of asphalt reaching over the edge to each other. “We will never forget what happened here,” says Safwat Ashraf, a 24-year-old teacher. Safwat says he heard women and children screaming who had sought shelter in the school.
Source:Libya Today
September 16, 2023 14:47 UTC