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| What We Know About the Deadly Floods in Libya | What We Know About the Deadly Floods in Libya |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| Torrential rain from a storm that swept across the Mediterranean Sea this past week caused two dams to burst near Derna, a coastal city in northeastern Libya, killing thousands and washing entire neighborhoods out to sea. At least 10,000 more people were estimated to be missing in Derna and other flooded areas, the head of a government agency said, citing official estimates. | Torrential rain from a storm that swept across the Mediterranean Sea this past week caused two dams to burst near Derna, a coastal city in northeastern Libya, killing thousands and washing entire neighborhoods out to sea. At least 10,000 more people were estimated to be missing in Derna and other flooded areas, the head of a government agency said, citing official estimates. |
| Rescue efforts are underway, but it is unclear how much aid has made it to people. The devastating floods have effectively cut off access to Derna, city officials said. Complicating the rescue effort in Libya is its division between an internationally recognized government based in Tripoli, the capital, and a separately administered region in the east. | Rescue efforts are underway, but it is unclear how much aid has made it to people. The devastating floods have effectively cut off access to Derna, city officials said. Complicating the rescue effort in Libya is its division between an internationally recognized government based in Tripoli, the capital, and a separately administered region in the east. |
| Experts had warned for years that the dams were at risk. And on Friday night, the country’s top prosecutor said his office was examining whether official neglect, among other reasons, may have led to the dams’ collapse. | Experts had warned for years that the dams were at risk. And on Friday night, the country’s top prosecutor said his office was examining whether official neglect, among other reasons, may have led to the dams’ collapse. |
| Here’s what we know about the flooding in Libya. | |
| Storm Daniel moved through the Mediterranean Sea early this month, swamping Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria before making its way to Libya, where it battered the coast last weekend. Heavy rains flooded the eastern part of the country, dousing Shahhat, Al-Bayda, Marj and other towns and displacing more than 34,000 people, aid groups said. | |
| In Derna, a city of about 100,000 people, the rain overwhelmed two dams to the south, and the resulting floods destroyed buildings, sank vehicles and left bodies strewn in the streets. |