In the aftermath of a devastating flood that wreaked havoc in the Libyan city of Derna, residents are left in anguish, desperately searching for missing loved ones. The catastrophe, triggered by a powerful storm, resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and sent many into the unforgiving embrace of the Mediterranean Sea.
The deluge, an overwhelming torrent of water, surged down a typically dry riverbed on a fateful Sunday night, breaching dams upstream from the city. In its destructive wake, multi-story buildings crumbled, trapping unsuspecting families as they slept.
As of Wednesday, Lieutenant Tarek al-Kharraz, the spokesperson for the interior ministry, reported a staggering death toll of 3,840 in the Mediterranean city. Among the deceased, approximately 3,190 have already been laid to rest, and tragically, among them were approximately 400 foreigners, predominantly hailing from Sudan and Egypt.
Meanwhile, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, the minister of civil aviation in the administration governing eastern Libya, informed Reuters that the count of casualties had surpassed 5,300 and warned that this number was poised to rise significantly, potentially even doubling.
Derna's Mayor, Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi, revealed to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television that the estimated death toll in the city could soar to a harrowing range between 18,000 to 20,000, based on the extent of destruction across various districts.
One heart-wrenching account comes from Mahmud Abdulkarim, a Derna resident who tragically lost his mother and brother. They failed to evacuate their first-floor apartment promptly following the dam's collapse, with his mother underestimating the impending catastrophe, believing it to be a mere bout of ordinary rainfall. Regrettably, when they finally decided to leave, the floodwaters mercilessly swept them away on the streets.
Describing the city's plight, journalist Mabrooka Elmesmary, who managed to escape Derna, painted a grim picture, labeling it a "disaster on a massive scale." In the wake of the calamity, basic amenities such as water, electricity, and fuel were in dire shortage, leaving the city in utter devastation. Entire apartment buildings, with families still inside, were mercilessly swept away. Many residents, attempting to flee, found themselves trapped due to blocked or obliterated roads, with some seeking refuge in schools.
Officially, the count of missing persons stands at a daunting 10,000, though the UN aid agency OCHA suggests the figure could be at least 5,000.
The shoreline bears witness to the tragedy, with clothes, toys, furniture, shoes, and other belongings strewn across the beach, remnants of homes carried away by the relentless floodwaters. The streets, now transformed into quagmires, are littered with uprooted trees and the wreckage of hundreds of cars, many of them overturned or lodged onto the upper floors of gutted buildings.
The scale of devastation becomes painfully apparent when viewed from elevated vantage points above Derna. The once-densely populated city center, situated along a seasonal riverbed, now lies as a vast, flat expanse of earth, punctuated by stretches of murky water glistening in the sun. Buildings that once stood proud have been unceremoniously swept away, leaving behind a landscape of ruin and despair.