Tropical storm Daniel hit on Libya Sunday, causing towns and neighborhoods to wash away. Flash floods unleashed upon the city, with river water running down mountains and through cities.
Authorities have named Derna a “disaster zone.”
Derna
Derna is a city in Libya. The city has a population of 85,000 to 90,000 people. It was home to one of the richest provinces of the Barbary states. Derna provides a unique environment among Libyan cities because it is surrounded by green mountains, the Mediterranean Sea, and the desert.
Derna features a hot climate with heavy Mediterranean influences. Annual rainfall is near 275 millimeters or 11 inches. Its location causes it to have a lag that is uncommon for a dry climate. However, the influence of the Sahara allows record highs to occur months before the average warmest months.
Libya Weather Conditions
Floods are common during rainy seasons, but not this powerful. A question was how the rains were able to destroy the two dams outside Derna.
Was it poor maintenance of the surrounding dams or the heavy rainfall from Daniel that caused the devastation?
The heavy rain that caused flooding in Libya. Additionally, the downpour came from a strong low-pressure system that also brought floods to Greece. The storm moved through the Mediterranean before turning into a tropical cyclone.
Due to pollution, oceans around the world are rising in temperature. Scientists say this powered the storm’s heavy rainfall.
Climate scientist Karsten Haustein, stated, “The warmer water does not only fuel those storms in terms of rainfall intensity, it also makes them more ferocious.”
Effects of the storm
Many towns in the eastern cities were hit by the floods, but the worst destruction was in Derna.
In the city of Derna, at least 5,000 people are dead, according to the ambulance authority. Over 10,000 people missing and the death tolls are expected to rise. Therefore, hospitals no longer function and morgues are filled.
All bodies are yet to be collected as some sit outside morgues. More bodies are stuck under rubble or have been washed into the sea.
Additionally, heavy rainfall caused floods and destroyed dams surrounding the city. Whole neighborhoods washed into the sea, according to authorities. Houses washed away by currents carrying debris and vehicles.
Ahmed Abdalla, a Derna resident described scenes of chaos when floods hit the city. He described hearing a loud explosions during the night and realizing that dams outside collapsed. Thus sending a wall of water. Phone lines in the city are down, perplexing rescue efforts.
The storm hit different areas in eastern Libya, including the town of Bayda. Over 40 people were reported dead and 2,000 presumably so.
The storm follows deadly flooding in other parts of the globe, like southern Europe and Hong Kong.
Rescue efforts
Emergency responders, including volunteers, government workers, troops, and residents were digging through the rubble to recover the dead. In addition, they used inflatable boats to retrieve bodies from the water.
Authorities in western and eastern Libya rushed to help in Derna. Tripoli’s health ministry sent a plane with 14 tons of medical equipment, body bags, and drugs.
Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi sent military commanders on Tuesday to provide urgent assistance to Libya. He said in a televised conference that the military would deploy equipment and personnel in coordination with eastern Libyan forces to help affected communities.
By Jamarion Thomas
Sources:
CNN: More than 5,000 presumed dead in Libya after catastrophic flood breaks dams and sweeps away homes
BBC: Libya Floods: Entire neighborhoods dragged into sea
TMJ4: Thousands killed and 10,00 reported missing Libya Flooding
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