TRANSCRIPT
Libya continues to struggle after the deadly storm that hit the eastern parts of the country, with the city of Derna being the hardest area.
The Libyan Red Crescent Organisation has reported more than 11,300 deaths so far, with the number expected to rise.
Libya's eastern administration has approved a budget of $3.2 billion to help flood-affected areas.
Parliament spokesman Abdulla Blahiq has also confirmed the creation of a committee to follow up on the recovery efforts.
“First, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve an emergency budget of 10 billion Libyan dinars to address the effects of floods in the affected areas. Second: Forming a committee headed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with the membership of the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya.”
A torrent unleashed by a powerful storm burst dams on Sunday ((September 10)) night and hurtled down a seasonal riverbed that bisects the eastern city of Derna, washing multi-storey buildings into the sea with sleeping families inside.
Derna Mayor Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi said deaths in the city could already reach 18,000-20,000, based on the extent of the damage.
Libyan authorities demanded an investigation into whether human failings were to blame for thousands of deaths in the worst natural disaster in the country's modern history.
Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation [[WRO]] Petteri Taalas says a large number of casualties could've been avoided.
"Yes, so, that’s the conclusion: if there would have been a normally operating meteorological service, they would have issued warnings and also the emergency management authorities would have been able to carry out evacuation of the people, and we could have avoided most of the human casualties. Of course, we cannot fully avoid economic losses, but we could have also minimize those losses by having proper services in place."
Libya’s Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Thursday acknowledged issues in the maintenance of two dams that burst, causing devastating floods.
In a Cabinet meeting, Mr Dbeibah has said the state of the dams that collapsed in last week's powerful storm had not been addressed for decades.
“The issue of dams is a topic that no one talks about, and no one is aware of it, even for decades. Nobody mentioned it, not even the local council, until disasters occur. Then they remember and ask who is responsible for it. They claim there has been a breach and blame it on us. Now, we have discovered through documents from the Ministry of Planning that we have contracts and maintenance agreements, but they have not been utilised."
Meanwhile, experts suggest climate change also played a part in the devastating floods that struck the east coast of Libya.
Bill Hare, the CEO of Climate Analytics says that the disaster in Libya wouldn't have happened without the extreme rainfall coming from global warming events.
"I don't think we'll ever say there is one single cause, but it wouldn't have happened without the extreme rainfall, which is coming from global warming events. But what it does do is it shows that climate change is going to create a lot of very difficult situations directly or indirectly. And it really just reinforces the fact that the international community needs to get its act together to provide support for vulnerable countries, countries that aren't working very well to address the challenges they've got coping with the risks that are coming from climate change."
Rescue teams have arrived from Egypt, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye and Qatar.
Among countries sending aid, Turkiye sent a ship carrying equipment to set up two field hospitals and Italy sent three planes of supplies and personnel, as well as two navy ships that had difficulty offloading because Derna's debris-choked port was almost unusable.
Rescue work is hindered by the political fractures in a country of 7 million people, at war on-and-off and with no government holding nationwide reach since a NATO-backed uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Libya's Ambassador to the United Nations Taher El-Sonni says it is extremely challenging to coordinate rescue efforts.
"All efforts are put now for rescue teams to try to be able to manage this disaster. But it's really challenging. We were not used to this incident. We were not expecting it that way. Therefore, I've been trying to do, or trying to engage in coordination with the UN agencies and different entities to coordinate efforts."
The World Health Organization [[WHO]] director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says $2 million is coming out of its emergency fund to support the victims of floods in Libya,
Mr Ghebreyesus, who described the floods as a calamity of epic proportions, says his agency is deploying contingency supplies which are already in Libya, as well as sending trauma, surgical and emergency supplies from its logistics hub in Dubai.
“WHO is releasing $2 million from our emergency contingency fund to support our response. We are deploying contingency supplies that were already in the country, and 28 metric tons of trauma, surgical and emergency supplies are due to arrive tomorrow from our logistics hub in Dubai. WHO has also activated its network of emergency medical teams. 8 countries and organizations have offered their assistance and a team from France has already deployed its field hospital in the affected area.”
Meanwhile, people continue to look for their missing relatives and beloved ones, with many registering names in the hopes of hearing news about them.
