Libya has been hit by unprecedented storms. A storm that previously wreaked havoc in Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey has swelled into a Mediterranean hurricane (Medicaan) and made landfall in Libya. Images show how everything is under water. Two dams have broken in the northeastern port city of Derna. Prime Minister Osama Hamada of the country’s eastern government speaks in local media of “at least 2,000 dead and thousands missing.”
KVDS
Latest update:
19:16
He did not provide a source for the figures. Earlier today, 150 deaths were reported. According to the Prime Minister, there has been “gigantic material damage to government and citizen property.”
Derna is currently cut off from the outside world and declared a disaster area. Images show how houses and buildings along the riverbanks have been destroyed, as have bridges and roads. Entire parts of the city seem to have been washed away. Benghazi, the region around Al Jabal al Akhdar and the suburbs of Al-Marj have also been severely affected.
“Derna is completely surrounded by mountains,” according to news site Al Jazeera. “Some experts say more than 30 million cubic meters of water has been dumped on the city due to the dams breaking.”
People have taken refuge on the roofs of houses and cars are being carried away by the water. According to witnesses, the water rose up to three meters high in the city. Four major ports in the country are said to be closed. Schools remain closed as a precaution and a curfew has been imposed.
Sea
Interior Minister Bouzraiba also speaks of thousands of people missing. It concerns people who have been “swept out to sea by floods”, he says.
Rescue workers are now searching for survivors. Qatar sends aid for the rescue efforts. The UN mission in Libya said it was monitoring the situation and providing support where necessary.
Medikaan Daniël has been causing severe weather in Libya for 48 hours. The east of the country in particular had a hard time. Heavy winds and rain have left many roads flooded or impassable. Roads in mountainous areas were damaged and cut off.
Unprecedented situation
The National Meteorological Center of Libya speaks of an unprecedented situation. “It is the first time that we have seen floods of that magnitude in our country,” Mohieddin Ramadan said on news site ‘al-Marsad’.
The country’s two rival governments have declared three days of national mourning. In the west there is a UN-recognized government in Tripoli, in the northeast the government of Hamad resides.
What is a ‘medican’?
“The term ‘Medican’ is a combination of the words ‘Mediterranean’ and ‘hurricane’,” Climatologist Lander Van Tricht explains to HLN. “It is a tropical cyclone-like storm that is forming in the Mediterranean Sea. A bit like the little brother of the hurricanes we know from the Atlantic Ocean. Medicans are ‘barely’ 300 kilometers in size and generally last no longer than 48 hours. But like other tropical cyclones, they bring dangerous weather conditions, such as heavy rain and wind. Typically, they approach or reach the strength of a Category 1 hurricane.”
The ‘hurricane season’ over the Mediterranean now starts in September and runs until January. On average, we see a doctor every two years.
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