Floods have wiped out large areas of Delna city, resulting in over 6000 deaths! Hurricane strikes Libya causing dam collapse

Hurricane Daniel hit eastern Libya on September 10th, causing severe flooding. On the 13th local time, Saad Din Abdul Wakil, Deputy Minister of Health of the Libyan National Unity Government, stated that the death toll from floods in eastern Libya has exceeded 6000.

Upstream dam collapse and flood wiped out large areas of Delna city

The flood caused such a large number of deaths and injuries in the city of Delna, mainly due to the collapse of two dams upstream of Delna at night, and many victims were washed away by the flood while sleeping.

Delna City is located on the northern coast of Libya, with the city center located in a valley and relatively low terrain. The river divides the city in half. On the 12th, the local Libyan media "Libyans" channel released an aerial video, which showed that the flood seemed to tear open a huge crack in the city, and almost all buildings and vegetation in the area were wiped out.

By comparing satellite images, we can more intuitively feel the enormous damage that floods have caused to cities by breaking through the original river channels. Many neighborhoods are covered by floods on satellite images, making them difficult to identify. The green color originally shown on satellite images due to tree cover was mostly replaced by yellow brown floods.

A staff member of the Libyan National Unity Government, a local television station in Libya, said that the floods poured down like a tsunami, and the scene of the disaster was shocking, with the number of victims increasing every hour.

On the 12th, residents of Delna arrived in the area that had been hit by floods, and from the videos they filmed, it can be seen that there are ruins everywhere.

Mustafa Salim, a resident of Delna City: We heard that the dam broke and flooded the entire area. People are all sleeping, no one is preparing in advance, but things just happen. What else can we do. My home is right next to the valley, across from the mosque. The whole family lives there, and we are neighbors. So far, we have lost 30 people and none of our 30 family members have been found.

Delna resident Aji: I live on the top floor, and when I opened the window, I saw a storm approaching us. The car was overturned, and people fled everywhere. The water has risen to about 3 meters, as high as the second floor.

As search and rescue efforts continue, more and more bodies of the victims are being discovered.

Volunteer Mohammad: We are still searching for the victims of the disaster, and we call on all young Libyan people, anyone with a medical degree or background, to come and help. We lack nurses, we need help.

In addition, in the Beida area located about 40 kilometers west of Delna, the disaster situation there is also severe.

Beda resident Sunus: All the houses here have been washed away. Look here, after the flood washed over, they were all destroyed.

Beda resident Sunus: Look at the roads here, they have all been washed away, half of them have been washed away.

The host of Libyan Radio accepted an interview with the headquarters: the situation is severe and urgently needs international assistance

Libyan radio host Sara Susi said in an interview with CGTN reporters that the flood disaster is unprecedented in Libya. Currently, the situation in the disaster area is severe, and there is great pressure for disaster relief. Libya urgently needs international assistance.

Libyan Radio host Sara Susi: The scale of the floods caused by this hurricane is huge, and the impact is catastrophic. The city of Delna and its neighboring towns continue to suffer from disasters and are still being invaded and submerged by floods. What is the cause of this disaster? The heavy rain brought by Hurricane "Daniel" flooded the dam in Delna City. The sudden continuous rainstorm caused the water level to rise. The water flow speed was too fast, which caused the dam to collapse after being soaked by the heavy rain, and then swept away the buildings, people and everything in front of it.

Libyan Radio host Sara Susi: Rescue efforts are ongoing, but the pressure on Libya's relief efforts is relatively high because this disaster is unprecedented. We have never experienced a hurricane of such magnitude before, and we do not have enough experience and methods to better advance rescue efforts. We need helicopters, bulldozers, and many experienced professionals. We need the help of the international community to provide us with professional resources for disaster response and rescue.

The outdated infrastructure and the fragmentation of the two major forces have caused heavy losses in floods

Analysis also indicates that, in addition to meteorological and geographical factors, the continuous wars in Libya have led to the deterioration of infrastructure, as well as government separatism causing difficulties in rescue efforts, among other factors, resulting in heavy losses from this flood.

According to the Associated Press, as one of the areas severely affected by the disaster, most of the modern infrastructure in the city of Delna was built during the Gaddafi era. Vice Mayor Mandenold recently revealed to Al Jazeera that the two collapsed dams in Delna have not been maintained since 2002.

Spokesperson of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Ronga: After more than a decade of civil war, Libya's infrastructure is extremely fragile, which is why such a tragedy has occurred.

In addition, the complex political situation in Libya has brought more variables to the defense against natural disasters. In 2014, Libya faced off between the Eastern National Assembly and the Western National Unity Government. Delna is located in the control area of the Eastern National Assembly. The confrontation between the Eastern and Western governments has also affected the rescue operations in the disaster area.

Gazini, an analyst for Libya at the International Crisis Research Organization: Of course, in addition to meteorological and geographical factors such as strong hurricanes and weak infrastructure, the political obstacles behind rescue efforts are a bigger problem.

Gazini stated that the international community's deployment of rescue teams to Libya requires approval from the Western National Unity Government recognized by the United Nations, but the disaster area is within the control of the Eastern National Assembly, which means that external assistance must be agreed upon by both sides of Libya before it can be implemented.

At present, relief teams and humanitarian supplies sent by Egypt, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates have arrived in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, but it is difficult to enter Derna at the moment because the road leading there was destroyed by floods.