Two dams in Libya collapsed overnight, thousands missing

Up to 2,000 people may have drowned after a powerful storm caused catastrophic flooding in the city of Derna, according to Osama Hamad, prime minister of Libya’s eastern government in Benghazi. The Benghazi Red Crescent had earlier put the death toll at just under 250, but the worst-hit area of ​​Derna remains largely cut off. Local leaders have declared the situation in the city “out of control and a disaster.”

The spokesman for the eastern Libyan army, Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari, said that between 5,000 and 6,000 people were missing in Derna, which has a population of 100,000.

An exact death toll is difficult to pin down because communications are disrupted and governance is hampered by a decades-long power struggle between two rival governments.

Aid agencies and developed Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are rushing emergency aid to the storm-hit area, while local officials say they need stretchers, food and water.

The powerful storm that hit on the afternoon of September 10 caused massive flooding, causing two dams in Derna to collapse at the same time, creating a surge of water that swept away at least one residential area.

According to video footage of the scene, the entire residential area along the river flowing from the mountains to the city center was wiped out.

It is unclear how many people were sleeping in the apartments when the flood hit. Survivors recalled hearing a loud explosion in the middle of the night.

“We were sleeping and when we woke up, we saw water surrounding our house. We stayed inside and tried to escape,” said Ahmed Mohamed, a resident of Derna.

Derna City Council said on its official Facebook page that “the situation is dire and out of control.” Locals called for international intervention and the opening of a sea corridor as most of the city’s roads were collapsed.

The parliament in eastern Libya declared three days of mourning. Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, the UN-recognized rival to Libya's prime minister in Tripoli in western Libya, also declared three days of mourning in all affected cities.