Climate change may be factor in Libya floods, expert says
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Source:Libya Today
September 15, 2023 06:30 UTC
Whole families drowned in Libya’s flood. Many didn’t realize the danger until they heard dams burst
DERNA, Libya (AP) — The wall of water several stories high smashed into apartment buildings, drowning entire families in minutes. Bodies of the flooding victims are transported in Derna, Libya, Wednesday, Sept.13, 2023. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)While many towns in eastern Libya saw deadly flooding, Derna, renowned for its white villas and palm trees, was the worst-hit. Damage from massive flooding is seen in Derna, Libya, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad) Damage from massive flooding is seen in Derna, Libya, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023.
Source:Libya Today
September 15, 2023 05:50 UTC
Who is responsible for the disaster in Libya? Everyone.
ArrowRight There’s plenty of blame to go around in the wake of an apocalyptic disaster in eastern Libya. “Between 2011 and 2014, there were already concerns about the state of Libyan infrastructure,” Mary Fitzgerald, a Libya expert at the Middle East Institute, told my colleagues. Political elites, whether in Tripoli or eastern Libya, haven’t prioritized the huge infrastructural challenges Libya faces.”Libya’s feuding factions and fractured polity laid the groundwork for the devastation that followed. Libyan social media “is already rife with criticism of European governments,” noted Tarek Megerisi of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “But for Libya’s political players … this is all just another episode in the struggle for money and power.”
Source:Libya Today
September 15, 2023 04:59 UTC
Flood death toll soars to 11,300 in Libya's coastal city of Derna
Damage from massive flooding is seen in Derna, Libya, on Wednesday. Daniel, an unusually strong Mediterranean storm, caused deadly flooding in towns across eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. Floodwaters gushed down Wadi Derna, a valley that cuts through the city, crashing through buildings and washing people out to sea. Derna has begun burying its dead, mostly in mass graves, said eastern Libya’s health minister, Othman Abduljaleel. The dead in eastern Libya included at least 84 Egyptians, who were transferred to their home country on Wednesday.
Source:Libya Today
September 15, 2023 04:19 UTC
Satellite images show flood devastation that killed more than 11,000 in Libya
DERNA, Libya (AP) — Images taken by satellite show the physical devastation from a flood that killed at least 11,300 people in the eastern Libyan city of Derna. Two dams above Derna burst early Monday under the pressure from rain dropped by a storm. Images made about 400 miles above the earth’s surface show that the storm left a brown layer of mud and dirt across the city. The satellite pictures show dirt and debris stretching out to sea into Derna’s shallow waters, which appeared visibly brown near the shoreline. AdvertisementBridges and other basic infrastructure have also been wiped out, especially buildings near the Wadi Derna river.
Source:Libya Today
September 15, 2023 03:53 UTC
Libya's flood-ravaged Derna in grisly hunt for thousands still missing
September 15, 2023 08:31 am | Updated 08:31 am IST - Derna, LibyaEmergency teams on Friday kept up their search for the thousands still posted as missing from the tsunami-sized flash flood that swept the Libyan port city of Derna, killing at least 4,000 people. It lasted an hour or an hour and a half -- but for us, it felt like a year." "A wave seven metres (23 feet) high wiped out buildings and washed infrastructure into the sea. Now family members are missing, dead bodies are washing back up on shore and homes are destroyed." Climate experts have linked the disaster to the impacts of a heating planet, combined with Libya's decaying infrastructure.
Source:Libya Today
September 15, 2023 03:03 UTC
UN envoy for Sudan resigns; warns conflict could be turning into full-scale civil war
Tensions between Sudan’s military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, burst into open fighting in mid-April. The graves were a result of attacks by the RSF and their allied Arab militias on civilians, mostly African communities, Perthes said. “The international community must not allow for a new generation of terrorists against the state who who transform (it) into Frankenstein,” he said. A former German academic with extensive background in international relations, Perthes served as chief executive officer and director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs from 2005 to September 2020. From 2015 to 2018, he served as a U.N. assistant secretary-general and senior adviser to U.N. special envoy for Syria.
Source:Libya Today
September 15, 2023 01:02 UTC
Libya floods show ancients were right about water’s apocalyptic power - The Washington Post
But this year has been a devastating reminder of the power and menace of water. Water scientists have a saying that if climate change is a shark, water will be the teeth. Now the world is being bitten, with news every day of extreme storms and killer floods. AdvertisementThose of us who work on water have warned for decades that climate change would intensify and amplify extreme weather. Infrastructure and communities designed decades or even centuries ago for a climate that no longer exists must be redesigned.
Source:Libya Today
September 15, 2023 00:11 UTC
Libya flood: The devastation of an Egyptian village 560 miles away
It is easy to understand why, according to locals, thousands of young men from the village are currently in Libya, mainly working in the construction sector. Al-Sharif is located in Beni Suef, one of the most deprived regions of a country in which almost 30% of the population live in poverty. The rate in Beni Suef is over 60%, according to Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics.
Source:Libya Today
September 14, 2023 23:32 UTC
U.N. says most Libya flooding deaths could have been avoided, as officials warn the toll could still soar
An area damaged by flash floods is seen in Derna, eastern Libya, Sept. 11, 2023. A damaged vehicle is seen stuck in debris after floods caused by Storm Daniel, in Derna, Libya, Sept. 12, 2023. Storm Daniel gathered strength during an unusually hot summer and earlier lashed Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece. While the floods were caused by hurricane-strength Storm Daniel, the damage was compounded by Libya's desperately poor infrastructure. Cars are stuck on a bridge surrounded by floodwater as storm Daniel hits central Greece, in the village of Flamouli, near Trikala, September 7, 2023.
Source:Libya Today
September 14, 2023 22:42 UTC
Libya floods: Search teams race to recover bodies as death toll tops 5,000
In Libya, international aid has reached devastated areas in support of local rescue teams. This after massive flash floods over the weekend, which authorities say, killed over 5 thousand people, with 10 thousand still missing and tens of thousands more displaced. FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes and Jade Lévin tell us more. As featured on Flooding death toll soars to 11,300 in Libya's coastal city of Derna. Here's a look at the latest developments The flooding swept away entire families on Sunday night and exposed vulnerabilities in the oil-rich country that has been mired in conflict since a 2011 uprising that toppled long-ruling dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Source:Libya Today
September 14, 2023 22:10 UTC
Death toll soars to 11,300 in Libya flooding
DERNA, Libya >> The death toll in Libya’s coastal city of Derna has soared to 11,300 as search efforts continue following a massive flood fed by the breaching of two dams in heavy rains, the Libyan Red Crescent said Thursday. Daniel, an unusually strong Mediterranean storm, caused deadly flooding in communities across eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. Officials in eastern Libya warned the public about the coming storm, and on Saturday, they ordered residents to evacuate coastal areas, fearing a surge from the sea. The dead in eastern Libya included at least 84 Egyptians, whose remains were transferred to their home country on Wednesday. President Joe Biden said the United States would send money to relief organizations and coordinate with Libyan authorities and the United Nations to provide additional support.
Source:Libya Today
September 14, 2023 22:09 UTC
Egypt aware of needs of Libyan people: Mismari
CAIRO – 14 September 2023: Official spokesman for the Liyan Commander-in-Chief, Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari praised the Egyptian support for the Libyan state in its ordeal after his country was battered by a devastating storm. He praised President Sisi’s decision to send the “Mistral” aircraft carrier to be a field hospital that helps save critical lives, and provides them with the necessary treatment. The military commander said the Egyptian aid includes 50 ambulances and 50 mobile field hospital truck trailers and medical supplies. The shipment has as well 100 containers with administrative needs at a load of 1,000 tons and dust tankers and equipment containers, he said. Egypt announced a three-day mourning for the victims of the Libyan flood disaster and the victims of Moroccan earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people.
Source:Libya Today
September 14, 2023 21:57 UTC
Libya’s Deadly Floods Show the Growing Threat of Medicanes
This rare, destructive, subtropical monster was supersized by unusually warm Mediterranean waters. Medicanes are the smaller siblings of the hurricanes and typhoons that barrage coastal locations around the world. While medicanes are rare, their destructive power can be immense—especially when they hit countries ill-equipped to cope with such ferocious weather events. Similar to hurricanes, changes in temperature and humidity across the Mediterranean Sea drive the creation of medicanes. Warm sea surface temperatures are the fuel for the more powerful medicanes that climate scientists say will be the new normal.
Source:Libya Today
September 14, 2023 21:07 UTC
Death toll hits 11,300 in Libyan city destroyed by floods
At least 11,300 are now believed to have died after torrents of water ripped through eastern Libya — a devastating toll that could largely have been avoided, global officials said Thursday. Marie el-Drese, secretary general of the Libyan Red Crescent, told The Associated Press by phone that a further 10,100 had been reported missing in the ruined city of Derna. Earlier, city officials said the death toll could reach 20,000. As rescuers searched underwater and under rubble, fears grew that rotting bodies could lead to a deadly outbreak of disease. “The situation is very large and surprising for the city of Derna.
Source:Libya Today
September 14, 2023 21:02 UTC