Destruction in Derna: Storm Daniel devastates the city, engulfing entire neighbourhoods

In eastern Libya, storm Daniel caused a human and material tragedy on a scale that is difficult to fathom, from Saturday 9 to Monday 11 September. The consequences of this disaster are terrifying in Derna. The torrential rains that fell in the mountainous region of Jebel Akhdar, overlooking the coastal city, swept away everything in their path, after breaking two dams submerged by gigantic quantities of water.

Unfortunately, the rising waters washed away some of Derna's inhabitants, as well as trees, houses, buildings, streets and squares, wiping out an entire section of the city that once had 100,000 inhabitants. A huge gaping scar now stands in the middle of the city. Oussama Hammad, Prime Minister of eastern Libya, whose authority is not internationally recognised, described in an interview with Al-Marsad, a Libyan media outlet, that in this "stricken" city, "entire neighbourhoods have disappeared". According to him, the human toll of this disaster is more than "2,000 dead" and "thousands missing".

The Minister of the Interior, Essam Abu Zeriba, was even more alarmist, stating the same day on the Al-Arabiya satellite channel that "more than 5,000 people are reported missing in Derna" and that many victims had been swept into the Mediterranean Sea. These estimates, although not confirmed by medical sources or rescue services, are provisional and do not take into account possible victims in other towns affected by the deluge, such as Al-Marj, El-Beïda or Benghazi, the country's second largest city.

Tawfik Al-Shukri, spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent, told Radio France Internationale that "our teams have been present everywhere on the ground since the first hours of the disaster, but the situation in Derna remains the most atrocious". He added that more than 2,030 bodies had been found and more than 9,800 people reported missing, according to government figures. He also explained that in Derna, five entire neighbourhoods had been completely submerged by the waters. After the initial flooding, the dams collapsed, costing the lives of three Red Crescent workers who were trying to save families trapped by the waters.

After crossing Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, causing the death of at least 27 people in its path, storm Daniel, described by experts as "extreme in terms of the amount of water that fell", continued on its way towards North Africa. On the night of Saturday 9 to Sunday 10 September, it reached the coast of eastern Libya, causing torrential rain and violent winds over a vast region between Benghazi and Tobruk, causing significant human and material damage.

The many images shared by Libyan internet users bear witness to the violence of the storm. In the El-Beïda region, the floodwaters reached two metres in places, engulfing houses and sweeping away parked cars. Videos posted on social networks show scenes of horror, with people swept away by the waters and roads gutted, considerably hampering rescue operations. Access to electricity and communications has also been severely affected.

However, it is in Derna that the damage appears to be most severe. A video shows a huge chasm in the middle of the city, following the course of a river running down the mountain towards the coast, as well as images of destruction as far as the eye can see. Derna, one of the first towns to fall to the rebels during the 2011 revolution against Muammar Gaddafi's regime, is now considered a bastion of local jihadism. Although it was the scene of several battles during the civil war, it has never before seen such desolation.

In this mountainous region, where infrastructure is scarce and has been severely damaged, estimates of the number of deaths, injuries and material damage are still very sketchy. The Libyan television channel Al-Hurra confirmed the deaths of at least 25 people from medical sources, without giving further details. Another report issued by the spokesman for General Khalifa Haftar, the head of the parallel executive based in Benghazi, stated that "at least 150 people were killed as a result of flooding caused by storm Daniel".

Other local media reported deaths in various towns and dozens of people missing, including eight soldiers who were trying to help the victims. Given the scale of the disaster, the Libyan National Army, which controls the east of the country, was mobilised on the orders of General Khalifa Haftar to help the victims. A budget of 200 million Libyan dinars (around €38 million) was also released to support the affected municipalities. The Tripoli-based government of national unity has called for emergency measures to deal with the extensive material damage.

Despite the political divisions that usually plague Libya, several convoys of emergency vehicles have left Tripolitania for Cyrenaica, temporarily ironing out the political divisions that usually plague the country. The United Nations in Libya announced that it was "closely monitoring the emergency situation caused by the extreme weather conditions in the eastern region of the country" and said it was ready "to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to complement national and local efforts". France and Tunisia also expressed their condolences following the disaster.