Thousands dead and 10,000 missing: three keys to understanding why Libya’s floods are so deadly

Floods occur all over the world. We have recently seen its effects in Chile, Brazil, China and also in Spain. But the ones in Libya are devastating.

This is due to a mix of nature with the previous structural conditions that existed in the country, as well as the complex political situation that Libya has been experiencing for decades.

Since Storm Daniel devastated the area, at least 11,000 people have died, thousands have gone missing and more than 34,000 have been displaced.

These are the keys to understanding why these floods are so deadly.

1. Storm Daniel, a strange phenomenon

These are the worst floods the country has seen in the last forty years, leaving towns completely isolated and destroying dams and bridges.

We advise

Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: Criticism of the Turkish government for its response to the devastating earthquakes

Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: how long can a person survive under the rubble?

“Europe or death”: teenage migrants who risk everything to cross the Mediterranean

“Bullets fell like rain”: Saudi Arabia accused of mass murder of hundreds of migrants on Yemen border

The storm Daniel was developed in Greece where it also caused destruction, albeit of lesser intensity. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the equivalent of 18 months of rain fell in just 24 hours.

Better equipped Greece struggled to cope with the force of Storm Daniel. On the fertile plain of Thessaly, houses were demolished, bridges collapsed, roads destroyed, electricity cables downed and crops destroyed.

As it moved towards Libya, Storm Daniel developed the characteristics of a hurricane. It is a hybrid phenomenon with some characteristics of a tropical cyclone and others of a mid-latitude storm, a tropical cyclone in the Mediterranean.

It is a phenomenon that occurs more often in the western part of the Mediterranean and not so much on the arid coast of Libya.

Climate experts noted this fact The warmer surface water of the sea strengthens the storms.

“There is consistent evidence that the frequency of tropical cyclones in the Mediterranean is decreasing as the climate warms, but… those who are more powerful become even strongerSuzanne Gray, from the department of meteorology at Britain’s University of Reading, told Reuters.

Before Storm Daniel hit, hydrologist Abdelwanees AR Ashoor of Libya’s Omar Al-Mukhtar University had warned that repeated flooding posed a threat to Derna, the Libyan city hardest hit by the devastation.

In Libya, torrential rains of between 150 and 240 millimeters caused flash flooding in several cities, including Al-Bayda. The Libyan National Meteorological Center said yes a new rainfall record.

In the 24 hours between 8am on Sunday and 8am on Monday, Omar Al Mukhtar University in Al Baida recorded 414 millimeters of rain.

To put this figure into perspective, annual rainfall in the city of Benghazi is typically 270 millimeters.

2. The collapse of two dams

Sunday’s heavy rainfall in turn caused this the collapse of two dams and four bridges over the Derna River, in the town of the same name and located in a valley surrounded by hills. As a result, the city was destroyed and flooded.

First, a dam about 12 kilometers long collapsed, probably due to a flood, according to structural engineer Andrew Barr of the University of Sheffield.

This, according to Barr, caused all the stored water in the rocky river valley to flow into the second dam, much closer to the town of Derna, causing it to collapse and flood the town.

Everything causes ‘Entire neighborhoods and their residents would be dragged into the sea’ Ahmed Mismari, spokesman for the Libyan National Army, which controls the east of the country, said at a televised news conference.

“I was surprised by what I saw, it looks like a tsunami,” Hisham Chkiouat of the eastern Libyan government told the radio program. News hour BBC News, adding that the burst dams in southern Derna had swept much of the town into the sea.

Chkiouat acknowledged that one of the dams that burst had not been maintained for some time.

An expert told Al-Wasat, Libya’s main news website, that the dams were in poor condition.

“The security chaos and the failure of the Libyan authorities to closely monitor security measures led to the catastrophe,” said expert Mohammed Ahmed.

But experts the BBC spoke to say yes too early to say whether the extreme rainfall was simply too much for the dams or whether the condition of the structures also played a role.

According to their observations, probably the dams They were made of rock structures (earth or stones thrown and compacted) that are not as strong as concrete

“These dams are prone to overtopping (when water exceeds their capacity) and while concrete dams can survive overtopping, boulder dams generally cannot,” says Dragan Savic, professor of hydroinformatics at the University of Exeter.

Kasim Al-Qatani, an aid worker in the town of Bayda, told the BBC’s Newsnight program that it was difficult for rescuers to reach Derna. Most main roads into the city were ‘out of service’. because of the enormous damage.”

He also said an investigation has been launched to find out why the floods could have caused such devastation in the area and that $515 million will be donated to help rebuild Derna and the eastern city of Benghazi.

Libyan journalist Noura Eljerbi, who lives in Tunisia, told the BBC that she only discovered that around 35 of her relatives, all living in the same apartment building in Derna, were still alive after contacting a local rescue team.

“The house was destroyed, but my family managed to escape before things got worse. “They are safe now,” he said.

Qatani said there was no drinking water in Derna and medical facilities were lacking.

3. The complicated political situation

Due to the unfavorable climatic conditions and the weakness of the structures, which led to their collapse, In addition, there is the fragile and complex political situation in which the country finds itself.

Libya has been in crisis since Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.

Since 2014 It is politically divided and governed by rival authorities: the Government of National Unity (GNU), an internationally recognized interim government based in Tripoli (in the west) and, on the other hand, the Tobruk government (in the east), called the House of Representatives, which does not constitute the government recognizes from Tripoli.

Recently, the United Nations Security Council emphasized Libya’s need to close the current chapter of institutional fragmentation and reach a political agreement that will pave the way for peaceful and transparent elections.

It’s fair in the eastern zone, where the House of Representatives, with the support of commander Khalifa Haftar, appointed his government with authority in the eastern region, where the floods occurred who destroyed the city of Derna.

In turn, the city was a former stronghold of the self-proclaimed Islamic State during the post-Gaddafi civil war.

Before the storm, rivals separately announced precautionary measures.

The circumstances leading up to even Gaddafi’s death were also not in Derna’s favor.

As Dr. Hani Shennib, currently living in the United States, explains to the BBC, much of the tragedy unfolding in Derna is due to human negligence and dates back to the 42 years of Gaddafi’s rule.

“Derna is a city that has constantly challenged Gaddafi, so he punished him very severely. The city was gradually eroded: There were no schools and the hospitals were in very poor condition,” he told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

This neglect continued after the 2011 revolution, when Gaddafi was assassinated and the country plunged into political turmoil that continues to this day.

Before the storm Daniel, Derna had “not a single hospital in operation”explained the doctor, who is also chairman of the National Council for United States-Libya Relations.

Although, as the full devastation becomes apparent, some examples of solidarity across political lines to help the flood victims are being seen.

For example, the Tripoli government sent a plane with 14 tons of medical supplies, body bags and more than 80 doctors and paramedics to the eastern area.

This is still not a political breakthrough, but it is rare for bitter enemies to work together.

However, countries that want to send aid have problems negotiate with the two governments.

According to Libyan journalist Abdulkader Assad, the fact that there are two governments makes rescue efforts difficult as they lack the capacity to respond quickly to a natural disaster.

“There are no rescue teams, there are no trained rescuers in Libya. “Everything in the last 12 years has been about the war,” he told the BBC.

The United Nations and several countries offered to send aid, including France, Italy, Algeria and Tunisia.

Authorities say rescue teams from Turkey have arrived in eastern Libya and France is sending a field hospital and staff capable of caring for 500 people a day.

The United Arab Emirates has ordered the dispatch of search and rescue teams, as have Qatar and Jordan, which said they will “provide all the assistance Libya needs in this very painful circumstance.” (JO)