The North African country of Libya is attempting to recover from Mediterranean Storm Daniel.
On Sunday, September 10, 2023 a predicted 8 months worth of rain fell on Derna, Libya and surrounding cities. This historic rainfall caused two dams and three bridges to collapse. The collapsing of the dams caused so much pressure that people, cars, and even entire neighborhoods have been swept away. One Derna resident, Ahmed Abdalla, said in a statement to The Associated Press that he recalled seeing the rushing water “erase everything in its way.” The situation in Derna has been described as “apocalyptic” by The Washington Post.
Eastern Libya’s health minister, Othman Abduljaleel, told the Associated Press that they believe even more bodies are trapped under rubble or have been washed out into the sea.
Many areas of Eastern Libya in and around Derna are unreachable by foot or vehicle and are without telecommunication. Because of the impassable road conditions, outside help was not able to reach Durna until 36 hours after the disaster struck.
Asmahan Belaoun, a member of the parliament with family ties to Derna, told The Washington Post the city’s main priority is to provide a telecommunication network and rescue helicopters to find survivors.
The current death count is 2,000 including three members of the Libyan Red Crescent- a group designed to help in emergencies like this one. It is predicted that up to 10,000 people have actually died as a result of the storm, but it is hard to know an exact number because of the inaccessible roads. Tamer Ramadan, a Libya representative for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told CNN, “Our teams on the ground are still doing their assessment, but from what we see and from the news coming to us, the death toll is huge.”
Hospitals in Derna are no longer operable because of the overflow of incoming patients. Bodies are being left on sidewalks outside of morgues and throughout the city.
Libyan-Americans and The US Embassy are showing their support to Libya by providing money to help search for survivors.