Tripoli – Nearly four months have elapsed since the destructive Hurricane “Daniel” struck several cities and villages in eastern Libya on September 11th, causing floods and major inundations that destroyed the dams of Wadi Derna, east of Benghazi. The disaster led to unprecedented human and material damage. Locals, activists, and both local and international organizations continue to speak of a significant lack in the response to body recovery efforts and assistance for those affected, as confirmed by several to Al Jazeera Net.
Governmental response has been slow, fraught with bureaucracy and confusion, hindered by the authorities’ inability to govern effectively and differentiate between normal circumstances and crises. Nizar Krikish, director of the Bayan Center for Studies, views this as a deepening crisis “despite the initial public surge, followed by institutional, civil society, and the Libyan Red Crescent contributions, all wasted by the poor official response.”
The World Health Organization reported 4,255 deaths and more than 9,000 missing in the first week of the Libyan disaster (Reuters).
Discrepancies in the official death toll persist, with authorities in eastern Libya insisting on a figure of only 4,200 fatalities, despite unofficial estimates suggesting the real death toll is much higher. The Tripoli-based Ambulance and Emergency Service stated on several occasions that the actual casualty count from the Derna floods and surrounding areas exceeded 16,000. The United Nations announced more than 4,000 deaths, alongside 8,000 missing persons and 43,000 displaced individuals, according to outdated statistics.
The debate intensified following the resignation of the spokesperson for the eastern government’s High Committee for Emergencies, Mohamed Al-Garh, in a live press conference due to what he described as the impossibility of the task and the inability to provide accurate information to the public. Subsequently, Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari, the spokesperson for retired General Khalifa Haftar, reiterated that the death toll does not exceed 4,100, despite WHO confirmations of 4,255 deaths and over 9,000 missing within the first week of the disaster.
Months later, confirmed figures are still lost amidst repeated local and international demands in the tumult of political disputes between eastern and western Libyan authorities. These factions failed to form a joint emergency committee to manage the crisis, leaving the number of missing and recovered individuals unknown, “a precedent not seen in other disasters around the world,” according to some observers for Al Jazeera Net.
The Libyan National Commission for Human Rights estimated the number of people displaced by floods in the cities of Derna, Sousa, and Shahhat, and some parts of the Green Mountain region, at over 44,000, with the majority (93%) distributed in eastern regions of Libya, while the remaining 7% have been displaced westward, particularly to the capital Tripoli. These displaced individuals face difficult humanitarian conditions going into winter, especially those housed in schools being used as temporary shelters. Neither government has provided essential needs such as clothing, bedding, heating, housing allowances, or financial aid to overcome their plight, as confirmed by the head of the Human Rights Commission, Ahmed Hamza, to Al Jazeera Net.
Local officials and eyewitnesses in the affected areas told Al Jazeera Net that they have not witnessed any debris removal or reconstruction efforts. Volunteers from the Red Crescent continue to recover bodies and collect bones continuously washed ashore, amidst conflicting official statements about compensations and reconstruction, while residents bear the burden of clearing debris and cleaning homes and streets.
The government of National Unity announced its early withdrawal from the city of Derna following disputes with the eastern parallel government appointed by the parliament, which has refrained from releasing information regarding its crisis management, opting instead to disburse minimal financial compensation insufficient for the needs of the affected. Local sources told Al Jazeera Net that this has led to the refusal to accept compensation in some regions.
The political divide, with two legislative councils and two governments in Tripoli and Benghazi, has become the biggest obstacle to responding to the Derna disaster. According to Krikish, the state’s intervention came more than a week after the disaster, and the absence of an emergency team outside the existing authorities made the crisis worse. Competing for public favor and legitimacy, politicians have further complicated matters, leading to protests in Derna holding the President of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, responsible and demanding his resignation.
The Libyan authorities, who pledged to investigate the collapse of the Wadi Derna dams, have produced no results three months post-incident, despite a nominal suspension of dozens of officials announced by the Attorney General’s office in Tripoli. This led Human Rights Watch to call for an independent investigation to review what it described as “the Libyan authorities’ negligence in handling floods that killed thousands of civilians.” Hanan Saleh, Assistant Director for the Middle East and North Africa at HRW, highlighted the need for questions about the inadequate maintenance of aging infrastructure, including the collapsed dams.
As international entities demand the acceleration of investigations and accountability for the thousands of casualties and destruction of buildings and infrastructure, local activists call for an end to policies that silence critics who accuse eastern authorities of negligence in the crisis.
