Moment deadly flood hit Libyan city, killing thousands

The Libyan port city of Derna has been ‘flattened’ by an enormous flood, which was caused by the failure of two dams. Rains from Storm Daniel pushed the dams beyond the breaking point, sending a catastrophic flood towards the town which swept away entire multi-storey buildings with ease and carried large parts of the city into the sea wholesale. At the time of writing, over 6,000 people are confirmed to have died and thousands more have been reported missing. Additionally, over 30,000 people have been displaced, out of a population of 89,000, with over 6,000 displaced from neighboring towns and villages. An unprecedented humanitarian effort is now underway to search for survivors; however, rescue efforts are proving almost impossible. Derna has been left without power, water, and much of the road infrastructure has either been damaged beyond usability or washed away entirely. The disaster has also overwhelmed the city’s hospital, with thousands of bodies waiting to be laid to rest. The political situation in Libya currently has two competing governments, which is also compounding difficulties.