At least 5,300 dead and 10,000 missing in Libya after floods burst two dams, sweeping homes and vehicles into the sea in the city of Derna.
According to Libya’s LANA news agency on September 12, the government has updated the casualty figures through the Ministry of Interior.
Reuters and The Guardian described the situation in the port city of Derna, home to 125,000 residents, as “a disaster beyond comprehension.”
The storm that occurred last weekend caused two dams to break, creating a massive wall of water that surged toward Derna, which was already flooded due to storm rains. Many residential areas, buildings, and vehicles were swept out to sea.
Videos recorded on September 10 showed a torrent flowing through the city with cars bobbing up and down. Numerous heart-wrenching stories of people being swept into the sea, while others clung to rooftops to survive, have been shared.
Hisham Chkiouta, Libya’s Minister of Civil Aviation, stated: “I am shocked by what I see; it looks like a tsunami… Bodies are everywhere, in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings. I am not exaggerating when I say I saw 1/4 of the city has vanished. Many buildings have collapsed.”
Kasim Al-Qatani, a relief worker, mentioned that access to Derna is currently very difficult as most of the main roads leading into the city are unusable.
Currently, an investigation is underway to determine why the flooding could cause such devastating destruction. Hydraulic engineers suggest that the dam upstream, located about 12 kilometers from Derna, likely broke first, sending water cascading down to the second dam closer to Derna.
