Torrential rain from a storm that swept across the Mediterranean Sea this past week caused two dams to burst near Derna, a coastal city in northeastern Libya, killing thousands and washing entire neighborhoods out to sea. At least 10,000 more people were estimated to be missing in Derna and other flooded areas, the head of a government agency said, citing official estimates.
Rescue efforts are underway, but it is unclear how much aid has made it to people. The devastating floods have effectively cut off access to Derna, city officials said. Complicating the rescue effort in Libya is its division between an internationally recognized government based in Tripoli, the capital, and a separately administered region in the east.
Experts had warned for years that the dams were at risk. And on Friday night, the country’s top prosecutor said his office was examining whether official neglect, among other reasons, may have led to the dams’ collapse.
Here’s what we know about the flooding in Libya.
What happened?
Storm Daniel moved through the Mediterranean Sea early this month, swamping Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria before making its way to Libya, where it battered the coast last weekend. Heavy rains flooded the eastern part of the country, dousing Shahhat, Al-Bayda, Marj and other towns and displacing more than 34,000 people, aid groups said.
In Derna, a city of about 100,000 people, the rain overwhelmed two dams to the south, and the resulting floods destroyed buildings, sank vehicles and left bodies strewn in the streets.
Libyans have posted in Facebook groups begging for information about their missing loved ones. In the days since, residents, alongside aid convoys and military units, have filled the roads leading to the disaster zone seeking information about dead and missing loved ones.
Libyan officials and international aid groups have issued conflicting estimates of the number of casualties, reflecting the chaotic situation on the ground. The formal death toll now stands at 3,166, Othman Abduljalil, the health minister in the country’s east, told reporters on Friday.
Other estimates have ranged from over 5,000 to over 11,000, with thousands more missing. Almost a week after the disaster, the window to rescue survivors of the tragedy is rapidly shrinking, health officials said.
The authorities “are still looking for people in collapsed buildings, but the chance of finding survivors is diminishing by the hour,” said Rick Brennan, who directs the World Health Organization’s emergency response for the eastern Mediterranean. “We expect, unfortunately, that most of the missing will not be found alive,” he added.
Did Libya prepare for the storm?
Political chaos for more than a decade has made it hard for Libya to maintain its infrastructure. The country is governed by a western administration based in Tripoli and a rival authority based in the east that oversees Derna, among other cities. Dozens of armed groups also wield power.
Officials were aware that the dams had structural damage that made them more vulnerable to floods. But years of government mismanagement and intermittent civil war meant that little maintenance was done over the years.
Most of the population of Libya lives in coastal areas, and the country is especially vulnerable to climate change and severe storms. The country’s eastern government met ahead of the storm to prepare. In a televised recording of the meeting run in Libyan news media, Osama Hamad, a top official, said that the authorities were on alert for the extreme weather. But Derna residents said they received contradictory instructions over whether to evacuate the city.
The failures of the dams raised alarm over the rest of Libya’s crumbling infrastructure. Some officials indicated that at least two other dams could also be at risk of collapse: the Jaza dam and the Qattara dam, both near Benghazi. A government statement assured Libyans that both dams were functioning and under control.
Sadiq al-Soor, Libya’s attorney general, said the authorities would take “firm measures” against anyone deemed to have been responsible for failing to properly maintain the two dams in Derna.
“This is extremely important for protecting the rights of the victims and to determine who was responsible — if there was neglect or dereliction of duty,” Mr. al-Soor told reporters on Friday.
What is the aid response?
The rival authorities in Libya seem to be working together to some extent on the search-and-rescue efforts. Medical teams, including workers sent by the Red Crescent emergency service, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the government in Tripoli, have mobilized in the area, and other aid groups said they were planning to expand their services in Libya.
President Biden said this past week that the United States would send emergency funds to relief organizations and that it would coordinate with Libyan authorities and the United Nations to provide support. European countries including Britain, France and Germany have offered to send humanitarian aid as well.
Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.
