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The Devastating Aftermath of Floods in Libya: Survivors Traumatized and in Need of Assistance

Local journalists in Libya have described the devastating aftermath of recent floods, which have caused widespread destruction and loss of life. According to Sky News Arabia سكاي نيوز عربية, the floods have been referred to as “Mediterranean Hurricanes”. Independent reporters have witnessed entire cities and neighborhoods being erased, leaving survivors traumatized and in need of assistance.

The floodwaters have also raised concerns about the spread of disease and the movement of undetonated explosives. Journalists are calling for international help in rebuilding the affected areas and providing technical expertise to aid in the recovery efforts.

The floods have had a particularly devastating impact on Egyptians living in Libya. According to الحرة, an Egyptian farmer, Ashraf Saadawi Abdel Fattah, learned of the death of his two sons in the floods that hit Libya when he was browsing his mobile phone. Abdel Fattah’s two sons, Mohamed, 23, and Abdel Rahman, 19, were on the list, along with six relatives and dozens of other men from their village. At least 74 men from the village died in the floods, some of them as young as 17.

Rescue efforts are underway in the mud and under the collapsed buildings in Derna to search for 10,000 missing people feared to have perished. Rashad Azat Abdel Hamid, a 45-year-old Egyptian survivor, said, “It was like hell.” He mentioned that countless people were swept away by the water, and when he descended from the roof after the storm subsided a little, the scene was horrifying. Bodies, clothes, smashed cars, and furniture were scattered in the streets, covered in mud and debris, and buildings had collapsed or were partially destroyed. People around him were sobbing as they searched for their loved ones and tried to rescue those trapped under the rubble.

Libyan authorities say they have found the bodies of 145 Egyptians in Derna so far. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced that dozens of Egyptians were buried in Libya, while 84 were transported to the nearby city of Tobruk and then flown to Egypt. In Nazlat Al-Sharif, 167 km from Cairo, 74 men from the village were buried in a mass funeral on Wednesday, attended by local officials and hundreds of villagers.

The mayor of Derna, Abdel Moneim Al-Ghaithi, told Al Arabiya that the death toll could rise to 20,000, considering the number of neighborhoods flooded. Mohamed, Abdel Fattah’s son, traveled to Libya three years ago to improve their living conditions, working as a daily laborer in Derna, and he sent whatever money he could save to his father for the family’s expenses.

Journalists are calling for international help in rebuilding the affected areas and providing technical expertise to aid in the recovery efforts. It is clear that the survivors of these floods are in desperate need of assistance, and it is the responsibility of the international community to provide it.