Libya: “Catastrophic” floods and a dam collapse amid heavy rains, according to officials

CNN
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Thousands of people are feared dead in Libya after Storm Daniel brought heavy rains and flooding to the eastern part of the country, sweeping entire neighborhoods into the sea, according to eastern Libyan officials.

Ahmed Al-Mismari, spokesman for the Libyan National Army, said in a press conference on Monday that more than 2,000 people had died in the severely affected city of Derna, and between 5,000 and 6,000 people were still missing.

CNN was unable to independently verify the death toll, and Al-Mismari did not mention a source for the number of dead and missing.

The Benghazi Red Crescent previously estimated that between 150 and 250 people had died in Derna, according to Reuters.

Authorities say the intense pressure caused by torrential rains in Derna led to the collapse of dams and the destruction of homes and roads.

Al-Mismari said in a press conference that the floods were caused by the collapse of two dams south of the city. “As a result, three bridges were destroyed. The flowing waters swept away entire neighborhoods, eventually throwing them into the sea,” he said.

The spokesman said, “Unprecedented floods occurred in the cities of Al-Bayda, Derna, Al-Marj, Tobruk, Tekinis, Al-Bayada, Battah, and all the cities and villages of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar and Al-Sharqiya.” The coast, all the way to Benghazi.”

The head of the parliament-backed government of eastern Libya, Osama Hamad, described the situation as “catastrophic and unprecedented in Libya,” according to a report issued by the official Libyan News Agency (Lana).

Footage circulated on social media showed submerged cars, collapsed buildings, and torrents of water flowing in the streets.

Telephone lines were cut in Derna, and pictures published by the Red Crescent showed streets severely flooded with water.

The head of the Libyan Emergency and Ambulance Authority, Osama Ali, told CNN that after the dam collapsed, “all the water went to an area near Derna, which is a mountainous coastal area.”

Ali said that homes in the valleys that were on the flood line were swept away by strong currents of muddy water that carried vehicles and debris.

Ali did not confirm the number of deaths previously announced by one of the Libyan governments, but he said that the number could not be excluded based on population estimates in the region.

The official said they were unable to reach their teams inside Derna after the phone lines were destroyed. Ali said that other emergency teams are unable to enter Derna due to the severe destruction.

Ali pointed out that there was negligence on the part of the authorities in preparing for possible damage resulting from the storm.

He added: “Weather conditions, sea water levels and rainfall were not well studied [were not studied]Ali said: “The winds are fast, and there was no evacuation of families who could be in the path of the storm and in the valleys.”

He added: “Libya was not prepared for a disaster like this. This level of disaster has never been witnessed before. Ali told Al-Hurra TV earlier: “We admit that there are shortcomings even though this is the first time we have faced this level of disaster.”

Video clips shared by the Medical Center in Al-Bayda on Facebook showed the evacuation of hospitals in the city of Al-Bayda in the east of the country after severe flooding due to rain caused by a severe storm.

These rains are the result of the remnants of a very strong low pressure system, which has been officially named Storm Daniel by the national meteorological services of southeastern Europe.

The storm brought Catastrophic floods in Greece Last week before it moved into the Mediterranean Sea and developed into a tropical cyclone known as medicine. These systems can lead to dangerous conditions in the Mediterranean and coastal countries, similar to tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic or hurricanes in the Pacific.

The remnants of the storm affect northern Libya and slowly move east towards northern Egypt. Rainfall over the next two days could reach 50mm – this area averages less than 10mm of rainfall throughout the entire month of September.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said in a blog post on the X website (formerly known as Twitter): “The United Nations in Libya is closely following the emergency caused by severe weather conditions in the eastern region of the country.”

Foreign countries have offered to send aid to the country, with Turkey’s disaster agency saying on Monday it would mobilize 150 search and rescue personnel, along with tents, rescue vehicles and other supplies such as generators.

The US Embassy in Libya said on