Devastation, distress and debris has all been left behind by the cyclone Daniel, which hit Libya on September 10th, 2023. Causing one of the biggest floods in history, the cyclone had catastrophic impacts on the country. According to the UN (United Nations) at least 3,958 people died and 9,000 people are still missing to this day. The cyclone caused the Al Bilal Dam to break. In 1986 the dam initially suffered major damage from a strong storm that had hit Libya. This caused cracks all over the dam and should’ve been immediately repaired by the Government, but wasn’t. According to the New York Times, this caused Storm Daniel to break the dam that was storing one and a half million cubic metres of water. The water held by the dam flooded into Wadi Derna, Libya, leading to the dam below it to also break.
Can you imagine the frustration by the nation when your government ignores a lethal and hazardous problem? Well this is exactly what the people living in north-eastern Libya felt. They endured political frustration and revolt, demanding that the government take accountability and responsibility for the thousands of deaths the breakage of the dam caused. This incident is a direct result of the split between the two contrasting governments in Libya. The government was initially divided after the downfall and assassination of Libya’s ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi. As a result the nation had two internationally recognised governments. The first government was located in Triplo, the capital of Libya and the second one was located in the east.
Aid from Egypt to Libya through rescue teams and limited financial aid were provided, however, due to the political situation the help that was able to be done was very limited. Other countries sent aid such as the US (United States), Iran, Italy and many more. Brian Lander, the deputy director of emergencies at the UN’s World Food Programme said he sent the UN with ‘food supplies for 5,000 families.’ But this simply isn’t enough for everyone suffering in Libya. Elie Abouanoun, the IRC’s (International Refugee Committee) Libya Country Director explains that there was poor international response due to the extreme difficulty of being able to drop off resources as well as international first responders to help and set up in the areas of need as infrastructures had been washed away and the area was still flooded.
Action is underway to rebuild the city. Officials are already evaluating the damage caused by the flood and creating plans on how to rebuild Wadi Derna. The reconstruction of roads and restoring electricity is the victims first job to make it easier for rescue to come help. But as said by Al-Wasat, the leading news website in Libya speaks out about how people feel that neglect to fix the dams the first time in 1986 as well as other infrastructure in the city has caused conflict in Libya and it is to blame for the people to die and are missing. A week after the floods, hundreds of citizens protest in Derna, Libya against the governments. Taha Miftah, a 36 year old Libyan says ‘the governments have failed to manage the crisis’.
The Libyan flood caused by cyclone Daniel revealed the failure and ineffectiveness of the Government and emphasised the need for a better approach to the natural and political challenges faced by Libya.
