Prosecutors will launch an investigation into local authorities, previous governments and the allocation of dam maintenance funds.
Libya’s top prosecutor will investigate the collapse of two dams in the eastern port of Derna, which launched a fast-flowing wall of water that killed thousands of people and largely destroyed the city.
Attorney General al-Sediq al-Sour told reporters that local authorities, previous governments and the allocation of maintenance funds for the dams would be closely scrutinized.
“I assure citizens that the prosecutor’s office will certainly take decisive action against anyone who committed mistakes or negligence, open a criminal case against him and bring him to justice,” al-Sour said at a news conference late Friday.
The investigation was announced as rescue teams continued to search for bodies in the devastated city on Saturday, nearly a week after Storm Daniel hit the levees, killing more than 11,000 people, according to an aid official.
Conflicting figures on the death toll have been reported, with officials in the east and west of the divided country giving different estimates.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that “the bodies of 3,958 people have been recovered and identified” and 9,000 others were still missing. In addition, 29 tons of health supplies arrived in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.
“This is a disaster of epic proportions,” said Ahmed Zouiten, the WHO representative in Libya. “We are saddened by the unspeakable loss of thousands of souls.”
“City smells of death”
Aid groups have warned that there could be a spread of disease in the coming days and serious difficulties in delivering aid to those in need.
Islamic Relief warned of a “second humanitarian crisis” after the Derna disaster, citing the “growing risk of water-borne diseases and shortages of food, shelter and medicine.”
“Thousands of people have no place to sleep and no food,” said senior official Salah Aboulgasem. “The city smells of death. Almost everyone has lost someone they know.”
Haider al-Saeih, head of the Libyan Center for Disease Control, said in televised comments on Saturday that at least 150 people had suffered from diarrhea after drinking contaminated water in Derna. He urged residents to only drink bottled water shipped in as part of the relief effort.
Caroline Holt, director of disasters, climate and crises at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, noted that issues such as unexploded landmines posed a threat to supplies while aid arrived.
“Of course, getting this aid from the airport to Derna is an additional challenge. We know the roads have been severely impacted as a result,” Holt told Al Jazeera.
“We know there will be security issues… These landmines that may once have been clearly mapped will now be destroyed. It poses an additional security risk for both the population in Derna and those coming from outside.”
Critical neglect
It is unclear how prosecutors will conduct their investigation because Libya was split between two rival governments following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
There are different militias and international actors behind the two governments. The lack of a strong central government has led to the neglect of important infrastructure.
A 2021 report from a state audit agency said the two dams, built in the 1970s, were not maintained despite more than $2 million being allocated for that purpose in 2012 and 2013 .
In 2007, a Turkish company, Arsel Construction Company Limited, was contracted to carry out maintenance work and build another dam. According to the company’s website, this work was completed in November 2012.
Al-Sour urged residents who have missing relatives to report to a forensic committee that deals with documenting and identifying recovered bodies.
“We request citizens to cooperate and rush to the committee headquarters so that we can complete the work as soon as possible,” he said.
The question was raised whether the high number of casualties in Derna could have been avoided through better governance.
“Human reaction”
Stephanie Williams, a U.S. diplomat and former U.N. envoy to Libya, called for a global mobilization to coordinate relief efforts after the flood in a social media post.
She warned of Libya’s predatory ruling class’s “penchant for using the pretext of ‘sovereignty’ and ‘national ownership’ to self-servingly and self-servingly steer such a process.”
Holt said it was time for rival factions to “put political differences aside,” noting there were already signs of this on the ground.
“We are hearing very encouraging stories about East and West coming together – people are literally coming from the West to try to support. It’s a very human reaction,” she said.