Over the past two days, Storm Daniel has hit eastern Libya. However, no one expected that the winds and rains would literally overwhelm Cyrenaica. The epicenter of the disaster is Derna, a center of a hundred thousand inhabitants overlooking the Mediterranean, now submerged by three meters of water. Daniel’s anger caused the collapse of the dams built along the Wadi River, which flows into the city from the nearby mountains. 33 million cubic meters of water suddenly poured out there, causing unprecedented flooding and inundating streets and buildings. Entire parts of the city have disappeared. Even the ruins of ancient Cyrene would “perish.” However, an accurate assessment of the disaster is not possible because of difficult access to the territory disputed between two rival governments and held hostage by various armed militias.
The Red Crescent remained cautious and spoke of hundreds of deaths, around 250. According to the Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed government of eastern Libya, Osama Hamad, it should be at least two thousand victims, while over a thousand people are reported missing.
The flood in Libya – Portal
And Derna is just one of the many areas affected: they range from Benghazi to Sousse, from al-Mary to al-Bayda. According to the spokesman for the Libyan National Army, Ahmed al-Mismari, the total number of deserters alone is almost six thousand. Meanwhile, the four main oil ports – Ras Lanuf, Zuetina, Brega and es-Sidra – were closed to prevent damage. Hamad’s government, backed by General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, is not internationally recognized. And that makes rescue operations more difficult. The community, through Councilor Ahmed Amdur, called for “urgent” international intervention to “save us” as well as the opening of a maritime corridor to support residents.
The “Eastern Parliament” has now declared two public holidays except in key sectors. The Tripoli-based “rival” government of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah responded by declaring three days of mourning and promising to compensate all those affected by the floods. Tripoli also announced the deployment of 50 ambulances and 75 doctors to Derna, as well as a convoy to strengthen rural clinics. The head of the General Service Company in Tripoli, Mohamed Ismail, sent dozens of excavators to support the rescue operations.
The flood in Libya – Portal
However, it is not easy to move around the terrain and get to your destination. Dbeibah benefits from the recognition of the Libyan Central Bank, which provides funds for local administrations. The UN, through the local UNSMIL mission, has pledged its support for Cyrenaica on its knees. The first to mobilize from abroad were Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Qatar. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he was in close contact with Libyan authorities “to examine the nature of the aid to be sent immediately,” stressing that no Italians were involved. According to experts, Storm Daniel is an “extreme phenomenon due to the amount of water that fell”. A type of event that is becoming more common due to global warming. In recent days it has hit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, where a total of 27 people died. On Sunday it reached Cyrenaica with wind speeds of 180 kilometers per hour and rainfall between 50 and 250 cubic millimeters. Something that has never been seen before. At least until now.