The incident

Over 5,000 people presumed dead after dams collapse in northeastern Libya due to heavy downpour from Mediterranean storm Daniel .

The catastrophe struck Derna and other parts of eastern Libya on Sunday night. As the Mediterranean storm relentlessly pounded the coast, the collapse of dams outside Derna unleashed flash floods along Wadi Derna, a river coursing through the city from the mountains to the sea.

While flooding is not uncommon during Libya’s rainy season, rarely has it caused such extensive destruction. Questions arose about how the rains managed to breach two dams outside Derna—whether due to poor maintenance or the sheer volume of rainfall.

The catastrophic impact of Mediterranean storm Daniel not only highlights the storm’s ferocity but also underscores the vulnerability of a nation ravaged by more than a decade of chaos. Libya remains divided by competing governments, one in the east and the other in the west, resulting in neglect of infrastructure in many regions.

What have been the factors causing such a devastating flood?

Experts suggest three key factors — extreme weather, vulnerable geography, and crumbling infrastructure — coalesced into one catastrophe, causing the most devastating floods to have hit North Africa in almost a century.

What was the cause of heavy downpour?

It was Storm Daniel, also known as Cyclone Daniel. Formed in Greece, the storm is also responsible for causing floods and deaths in Spain, Turkey and Bulgaria earlier this month.

Before reaching Libya, Daniel transitioned into what is known as a ‘medicane,’ or tropical-like cyclone that occasionally forms over the Mediterranean Sea.

The storm became stronger as it drew energy from the abnormally warm waters (the Mediterranean has been 2 to 3 degree Celsius warmer this year than in the past), before drifting to the south and unloading excessive rainfall over northeastern Libya, where rain flowing down the mountainous terrain overwhelmed dams.

The flooding has occurred in Libya’s eastern region, which witnessed extreme rainfall from Sept 10 to 11.

How global warming is linked with Libyan disaster?

Medicanes are known to be weak storms that don’t last long. But higher sea surface temperatures (obviously a consequence of global warming), help them become stronger and last longer — when storms travel across hot oceans, they gather more water vapour and heat, resulting in more powerful winds, heavier rainfall and more flooding when they reach the land.

How the location of Derna is responsible for the city’s widespread damage?

The floods seem to have caused the most destruction in Derna — a coastal city with an estimated 100,000 inhabitants. So far, Derna alone has recorded the death of more than 5,300 people.

One reason behind the city’s widespread damage is its location. It is situated at the end of a valley and bisected by the Wadi Derna, a seasonal river that flows from mountains to the south (towards the sea) and is normally protected from flooding by dams.

Derna has two dams. The first one is about 12 km upstream from the city where two river valleys converge and the second one sits on the southern edge. After breaching the first dam, the floodwater probably continued downstream along the canyon and then swept off the second dam, entering the city centre, and smashing into buildings on either side, the report adds.

How humans are responsible for the disaster?

The collapse of the two dams in Derna highlights the dilapidated infrastructure of Libya. The country has been gutted by a war between two rival factions for more than a decade. In Tripoli, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah leads Libya’s internationally recognised government. In Benghazi, the rival prime minister, Ossama Hamad, heads the eastern administration, which is backed by powerful military commander Khalifa Hiftar.

In the tussle for power, focus on socio-economic issues, including maintaining and developing infrastructure has been put on the backburner.

There has been a sort of routine neglect of all infrastructure in Libya.

Dams, desalination plants, electrical grids and roads have been left in disrepair throughout the country.

Moreover, as flooding is quite rare in the region, Libya wasn’t prepared to face the calamity. Daniel deposited 440 millimeters (15.7 inches) of rain on eastern Libya in a short span, possibly overwhelming the infrastructure and causing dam failure.

There are no flood-resilient structures or roads in the country, especially in Derna.

Any sort of early-warning system regarding such disasters also doesn’t exist.

What has been the response of the world community?

Humanitarian aid and rescue teams from Egypt, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates arrived in Benghazi, and several other countries have pledged assistance.