Ali Abbas Ahmadi
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

The international community must continue to pay attention to and support Libya even after it leaves the news cycle, says Tomasso Della Longa, a spokesperson from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

"Don't forget Libya when the [spotlight] moves away from Libya," he says.

Speaking to the BBC from Geneva, Della Longa says the people need sustainable, long term solutions to prevent future disasters from being so destructive.

A UN official quoted by the BBC's partner CBS told reporters, external that many of the deaths due to the floods could have been avoided, and better support in the years leading up to the disaster may have prevented it from causing so much damage.

From road to river in 25 secondspublished at 15:59 British Summer Time 15 September 2023

15:59 BST 15 September 2023

A dramatic video has emerged online showing a torrent of water turning a road into a river in around 25 seconds - part of the devastating flooding in Libya. In the video, cars with their headlights on are swept down the road.

The video was filmed during a huge storm - flashes of lightning can be seen throughout, as we’ve seen in other footage from the floods, which killed thousands earlier this week.

Using satellite imagery, we have been able to confirm the video is from the Maghar neighbourhood on the western bank of the Wadi Darnah river.

It's a neighbourhood that was once full of supermarkets, electronics shops and other local businesses, many of which have now been washed away.

It is also home to the Derna Medical Centre on the northern edge of the district. An internet search showed that the steps, railings and marks on the ground outside the building match those seen in the video.

The centre also has a Facebook page which includes a photo showing a security camera at a position and angle that matches the footage. The timestamp - showing the early hours of Monday morning - also matches what is known about the moment the floods hit.

A top UN official says the scale of the flooding disaster in Libya is "appalling" and "shocking".

Martin Griffiths was speaking earlier today at a news briefing at the UN's headquarters in Geneva.

More international aid is arriving in Libya as the country continues to struggle after floods killed thousands and left people in the city of Derna homeless.

A cargo plane sent by the United Arab Emirates which is bringing aid and support teams has arrived at Benina airport in the city of Benghazi.

The supplies will be taken to Derna, some 300km (186 miles) to the east.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Othman Abdul Jalil, Libya's Minister of Health and spokesman for the (unofficial) Libyan government based in the east, has told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme that six new hospitals and clinics have been set up on both the east and west sides of the country and that everyone's priority is the restoration of medical assistance and services.

“The biggest concern now is the contaminated water... Water supply in the city is dependent on wells underground. Most of the wells have been covered in mud, damaged or contaminated with sewage," Othman says.

He adds he was told by the military, ahead of the disaster, that soldiers tried to tell people in Derna to leave their homes for the mountains: "A lot of them did, but unfortunately some people thought it was an exaggeration.

"There were no instructions asking people to remain in their homes, except areas where they were not in the way of the water."

He adds: “I heard people say the dams were not being maintained... I don’t think that’s really the case. This storm is unprecedented... the amount of water exceeded 450mm in a very short time.”

Image source, Meera Elnaal

A Libyan resident has told the BBC many people in the country are "extremely angry" at government officials who she said lacked "a sense of responsibility" and accused them of "neglecting the basic needs of the people".

Meera Elnaal - who lives in the capital city, Tripoli - adds she believes "many lives could have been saved and the disaster could have been completely avoided", but says corruption and mismanagement are behind the lack of "proper handling" following the bursting of the dams.

Elnaal, who was speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, says she believes the high number of deaths following the flooding was not just down to the excessive amount of rainfall.

"It's not a natural disaster, it’s something that could have been avoided by taking responsibility, by listening to the specialists that say there is a disaster going to happen."

Image source, United Nations TV

The aftermath of the deadly flooding in Libya has been described as a deeply "shocking" catastrophe that is "unimaginable in its consequences" by top UN official Martin Griffiths, whom we heard from earlier.

Speaking from the United Nations' headquarters in Geneva, Griffiths - who is UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs - added the disaster was "a massive reminder of climate and its presence".

He admitted that the UN faced "a really difficult year ahead" and expected that governments' capacities to deal with the climate challenge would be "stretched to the limit".

He also said a disaster co-ordination team had been redeployed from Morocco to help with the crisis in Libya.

The political instability in Libya over the last decade which includes several civil wars has contributed to the devastating impact of the floods, says Griffiths as "300,000 people already needed aid" before the dams failed.

The UN has now launched an urgent appeal for just over $71m (£57m) to respond to the needs of those impacted by the flooding.

The floods in Libya are very different from the other disasters he has seen, says Ibrahim Ozur, the Turkish Red Crescent deputy director speaking to the BBC from Benghazi.

The flood in Derna was so devastating that it looked like “an earthquake hit at the same time”, he says.

“It was so powerful that buildings collapsed; I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

The situation inside the city is bleak - there is no drinking water, no sewage and no electricity. There is “completely nothing, it's all black", Ozur says.

The one ray of hope, he says, is that it has become easier to get aid workers and supplies to Derna. It took the first Turkish rescue team that arrived 10 hours to reach Derna from Benghazi, he says, but the city has since become easier to reach.

Mark Poynting
BBC Climate and environment researcher

In some parts of Libya, rainfall totals in just 24 hours exceeded the total typically seen in a whole year.

It’s not uncommon for the region to receive a high proportion of its annual rainfall in a relatively short time, as it is generally very dry, external.

But the rainfall from Storm Daniel – a Mediterranean hurricane-like system known as a “medicane” was particularly extreme, external and contributed to the collapse of two major dams and the devastating floods.

It’s too early to attribute with certainty the severity of this storm to rising global temperatures.

But climate change is thought to be supercharging the rainfall associated with such storms, says Liz Stephens, an associate professor of climate risks and resilience at the University of Reading.

Warmer oceans can give storms more energy, while a warmer atmosphere means they can hold more moisture.

And experts say that this event sadly demonstrates how the impact of extreme weather is amplified where populations are vulnerable and adequate preparation not in place.

The floods in Libya have most severely impacted the city of Derna in eastern Libya, where entire neighbourhoods have disappeared and the death toll could reach 20,000.

What caused this devastating deluge?

Image source, .

Record rainfall

Storm Daniel hit Libya on Sunday, bringing more than 400mm of rain to parts of the north-east coast within a 24-hour period.

That is an extraordinary amount of water for a region which usually sees about 1.5mm throughout the whole of September.

It is so far unclear whether the storm was brought on by climate change. However, the rising global temperatures are thought to increase the frequency and intensity of dangerous storms.

Image source, .

Two dams burst

Two dams on the Wadi Derna, which flows through the city of Derna, burst allowing a flood of water to flow into the city.

Experts say it's too early to know whether the extreme rainfall was simply too much for the dams to handle, or whether the condition of the structures also played a role.

A research paper published last year highlighted that area "has a high potential for flood risk" and the dams needed maintenance.

Image source, Maxar Technologies / Reuters

Since the collapse of two dams in the Libyan city of Derna, Libyan and regional media outlets have highlighted concerns surrounding other dams, say our colleagues at BBC Monitoring.

Lana news agency and Afrigate News website reported comments by the mayor of the north-eastern town of Tocra, in which he warned that the pumping systems of Wadi Jaza dam were not functioning, and that the concrete barrier between the valley and the dam had started to crack.

He said this represented a great danger to the population of Bersis, an area east of Benghazi, and neighbouring coastal towns.

Yesterday, a report by Al Arabiya TV said that there were fears that both Wadi Jaza and the Wadi Qattara dam could burst.

However, it also quoted that the east-based administration as saying that the situation was under control and that the two dams were operating as normal.

Image source, Reuters

The World Health Organization and other aid agencies urged Libyan authorities on Friday to stop burying flood victims in mass graves.

More than 1,000 people have so far been buried in mass graves, according to a UN report.

The statement urged that victims should be buried in well demarcated and documented graves, as a hasty burial can lead to a long-lasting mental distress for grieving family members.

The devastating deluge has washed away entire neighbourhoods in Derna. Thousands have died while thousands more remain missing.

Image source, Getty Images

Between a divided government, destroyed infrastructure and difficult logistics for aid teams, it's hard to get a precise picture of the situation in Libya today, but here's what we do know:

• The official government's death toll as of yesterday is 3,000. Libya's UN ambassador has put the figure at 6,000, the Red Crescent organisation estimates 11,000, and the mayor of Derna says it could be up to 20,000
• Tens of thousands of people remain missing in Derna, and efforts to locate them are under way, but the task is overwhelming. Thousands of bodies were washed out to sea, and tides have brought some to shore more than 100km (60 miles) away

• Bulldozers have started clearing the streets in Derna, but work is slow - the rubble of destroyed buildings still conceals many victims who were trapped inside when the flood hit
• Destroyed infrastructure is slowing down aid teams as roads to Derna are blocked and teams on the ground do not have access to power, water and fuel. There are calls to establish a sea corridor as an entry way
• The UN says Derna urgently needs more aid, and that climate change played a role in the catastrophe

Aid teams are battling to help survivors five days after devastating flooding hit Libya.

In the video below, released by the Spanish NGO IAE, rescue dogs can be seen combing demolished buildings in the city of Derna.

Image source, Getty Images

The United Nations' top aid official says the floods in Libya are a catastrophe in which climate change and the capacity of a country to cope have collided.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, said the most pressing needs were shelter, food and healthcare.

"In Libya, where access to Derna is still so difficult, where there are the compounding problems of the dam breaking, as well as the storm breaking from the sea, this is a tragedy in which climate and capacity has collided," he said at a news conference in Geneva.

Another challenge was co-ordination with the authorities, and gauging the extent of the disaster:

"I think the issue for us in Libya is, of course, co-ordinating... with the government and then with the other authority in the east of the country.

"Secondly, discovering the extent of the problem. We're not there yet in Libya. We don't know the extent of the problem. The floods and the torrents and the destroyed buildings and the sludge still conceal the level of need and death and then sustaining, in that second phase, getting the right aid to the right people in the time."

Image source, EPA

Emergency workers sifting through the mud and rubble of the flood disaster in Libya are still hopeful of finding survivors, says Tamer Ramadan, the Red Cross chief in Libya.

"The hope is there, is always there, to find people alive," he says.

The Red Crescent says 11,000 people are confirmed to have died so far, with 20,000 missing. As you'd imagine in such a complex situation, various figures have been cited by different officials, and Derna's mayor said the total number of dead could reach 20,000.

If you're just coming to this story, two dams and four bridges collapsed in the Libyan city of Derna, submerging much of the city when Storm Daniel hit on Sunday.

You can see the location of those dams on this map - and how Derna stands in the path of the floodwater:

Image source, .

The subsequent tsunami-like release of water surged through central Derna, destroying entire neighbourhoods, as you can see below:

Image source, .

There are still hundreds of bodies under collapsed buildings in Derna and others washing up on beaches up to 60 miles away, and Libyan health authorities are monitoring the risk of disease.

But "the belief that dead bodies will cause epidemics is not supported by evidence", says Pierre Guyomarch, the head of the forensics unit of the Red Cross.

"The bodies of people who have died following wounds sustained in a natural disaster or armed conflict almost never pose a health danger to communities.

“Those who survive an event like a natural disaster are more likely to spread disease than dead bodies.”

Dead bodies near or in water supplies can lead to health risks, however, according to the World Health Organization, and that's what some are concerned about in Derna, although the precise picture on the ground is still unclear.

Image source, Getty Images

The large number of decomposing bodies still under collapsed structures and in floodwaters in Derna city has raised concerns about the risk of disease for survivors.

Libya's Interior Minister Emad al-Trabelsi on Thursday told Al-Hadath TV that health authorities were investigating health hazards in the city and would make a decision on the threat of a potential outbreak.

He said electricity has been connected to some areas of Derna and work was under way around the clock to restore services.

The minister put the official death toll at 3,000 with more than 2,800 people still missing.

There is discrepancy over these figures, with Libya's ambassador to the UN saying about 6,000 people have died so far. The Red Crescent put that number higher, at 11,300.

Image source, Getty Images

Body bags waiting to buried litter the mud-caked streets of Derna.

Bulldozers are clearing the streets of rubble and the mountains of sand, as traumatised and grieving residents search the mangled buildings for loved ones still missing after the floods.

In one shattered home, a rescue team pumped out the water to reveal a woman's lifeless arms still clutching her dead child, AFP reports.

"This disaster was violent and brutal," says Yann Fridez, the head of the Libya delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross - which had a team in Derna when the floodwaters hit.