Libyan floods - 20th September 2023

A massive storm hit Libya causing a tsunami sized flash flood on Sunday, 10th September, 2023. Storm Daniel had gathered strength as it had travelled across Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece but unleashed its full wrath over Libya.

Four hundred millimetres of rain hit the north-east coast in just 24 hours - an area which normally sees just 1.5 millimetres in the whole of September. Reaching its peak around midnight, the intense rainfall contributed to the collapse of two major dams - resulting in torrents of water crashing through the city of Derna.

The water swept away people, cars and buildings; such was the devastation that the Deputy Director of the Turkish Red Crescent described the destruction as though "an earthquake had hit at the same time".

Figures of the number of people killed by the flood have reached 11,300, but according to the city's mayor the death toll could rise as high as 20,000 as so many people are still missing.

Although the intensity of the storm known as a "medicane" - the European equivalent of a hurricane - is blamed for the flood, the poor state of the dams and the general infrastructure contributed to the destruction witnessed by the city and its residents.

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since dictator President Kadhafi was killed in 2011; the country's now divided between two rival blocs, the internationally recognised government in Tripoli and an administration controlling the disaster area. This has made getting rescue workers and equipment to the area extremely difficult.

According to the country's prime minister, only necessary aid will be accepted. However, with 30,000 people now homeless and the water contaminated, the United Nations warns that disease will be the next threat to those who have survived the floods.