Pope Francis was among world leaders who said they were deeply saddened by the deaths and destruction in Libya. "If a huge flood happens the result will be catastrophic for the people of the wadi and the city," the paper said. He cited five floods since 1942, and called for immediate steps to ensure regular maintenance of the dams. Ashoor of Libya's Omar Al-Mukhtar University said repeated flooding of the seasonal riverbed, or wadi, was a threat to Derna. In a research paper published last year, hydrologist Abdelwanees A. Reuters confirmed the location based on the images. "There used to be a dam," a voice can be heard saying in the video. FLOOD WARNINGĭerna is bisected by a seasonal river that flows from highlands to the south, and normally protected from flooding by dams.Ī video posted on social media showed remnants of a collapsed dam 11.5 km (7 miles) upstream of the city where two river valleys converged, now surrounded by huge pools of mud-coloured water. I lost contact with all my family, friends and neighbours."Īn interior ministry spokesperson told Al Jazeera that naval teams were searching for the "many families that were swept into the sea in the city of Derna". Karim al-Obaidi, a passenger on a plane from Tripoli to the east, said: "I have never felt as frightened as I do now. Her brother-in-law, Walid Abdulati, said: "We are not speaking about one or two people dead, but up to 10 members of each family dead." "At first we just thought it was heavy rain but at midnight we heard a huge explosion and it was the dam bursting," he said.Īt Tripoli airport in northwest Libya, a woman wailed as she received a call saying most of her family were dead or missing.
Raja Sassi, 39, survived the flood with his wife and small daughter after water had reached an upper floor, but the rest of his family had died, he said. In Derna, Mostafa Salem, 39, said he had lost 30 of his relatives.
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