Several reports and studies published in recent years have alerted the Libyan authorities to the poor condition of the Derna dams.
The causes of the disaster are beginning to become clearer, six days after flooding hit the city of Derna. The dams built in Wadi Derna, like others across the country, had failed since 1998. These works have been neglected by successive governments since 2011, as was the case under the regime of Muammar Gaddafi (1969-2011).
On Sunday, the first dam, that of Abou Mansour, with a capacity of 22.5 million cubic meters, 13 km from the city, gave way under the pressure of heavy rains, triggering floods of water that hit the second dam, Al-Bilad with a capacity of 1.5 million m3, just one kilometer from the coastal town.
Because of its proximity, there was little chance that the flood would dissipate before reaching the city. Derna therefore received the full force of the current.
Cracks were reported in 1998
The two dams were built in the 1970s by a Yugoslav company “not to collect water, but to protect Derna from flooding,” according to Libyan Attorney General al-Seddik al-Sour, who announced Friday evening that he was building one An investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
Before the construction of the two dams, Derna was actually hit by a series of severe floods caused by flooding from the wadi, particularly in 1941, 1959 and 1968.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the dam administration in Libya had already reported cracks in the two structures in 1998. Two years later, the authorities hired an Italian consulting firm to assess the damage to the two dams. The cabinet confirmed the cracks and, according to Abou Mansour, even recommended the construction of a third dam to protect the city.
After the fall of Gaddafi, work began and then stopped
In 2007, Muammar Gaddafi’s regime commissioned a Turkish company to carry out the repair work. Due to a lack of pay, the company did not begin work until October 2010, before halting it less than five months later in the wake of the 2011 revolution that toppled the dictator.
Since then, a budget has been allocated each year to repair two dams, but neither successive government has undertaken the work. In a 2021 report, the Libyan Audit Office, which is equivalent to a court of auditors, points to a “hesitation” by the ministry concerned in resuming work in the two structures.
Disorganization associated with political instability in the country
In a November 2022 study, Libyan engineer and academic Abdel-Wanis Ashour warned of a “catastrophe” threatening Derna if authorities did not carry out maintenance on the two dams.
But despite this warning, the work was not carried out, although Libya, which has the largest oil reserves in Africa, does not lack the resources.
The head of the United Nations-dependent World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas, estimated this week that “most of the casualties could have been avoided,” citing disorganization linked to political instability in the country.