Скачать или смотреть Libya flood survivor recounts dam collapse impact as search and rescue continues

(14 Sep 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Derna, Libya - 13 September 2023
1. Various of rescue workers searching for bodies along the coast of the Libyan city of Derna, damaged cars, belongings
2. People watching divers while searching for bodies
3. Various of flipped cars, rubble
4. Group of people next to damaged buildings
5. Interior of damaged building
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Moussa Ibrahim, survivor:
"The big dam of Derna collapsed, the water reached around 20 metres high while carrying mud. The floods hit buildings and courtyards killing everyone, next to us are farms of my relatives - mercy be upon them."
7. Various of flipped cars in the streets, rubble, damaged buildings
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Moussa Ibrahim, survivor:
"It is a disaster that has gone beyond imagination, we thought it was just floods, water going down but the mud is the greatest problem, bodies are buried under piles of mud and debris, 3 or 4 metres high of mud. We pray God give patience to the families of the dead and the thousands missing. The courtyard we are in is my nephew's and the one next to us too, mercy be upon them all."
9. Various of rescue teams at work
10. Ambulance driving in the street
11. Helicopter flying over the city of Derna
STORYLINE:
As rescue teams continued looking for bodies in the aftermath of the floods that destroyed the Libyan city of Derna, survivors on Thursday spoke of their plight and their attempts to find relatives.

Moussa Ibrahim believes many of his relatives died, several days after two dams burst above the Libyan coastal city of Derna, unleashing epic floods that wiped out neighborhoods and sent some of the dead into sea.

"The big dam of Derna collapsed, the water reached around 20 metres high while carrying mud. The floods hit buildings and courtyards killing everyone," he said.

Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many towns of eastern Libya.

But Derna, renowned for its white villas and palm trees, was the worst-hit.

The city had no evacuation plans, and residents said the only warning was the explosive sound of the dams rupturing.

The startling devastation has underscored Libya’s vulnerability.

The oil-rich country has been divided between rival administrations, each backed by competing armed militias, for almost a decade. It has been rocked by conflict since a NATO-backed Arab Spring uprising toppled autocratic ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Both governments, and their various international patrons, have banded together to help those affected.

But progress has been slow.

Key bridges, roads and other infrastructure are gone.

Derna, which had a population of 90,000, largely was cut off from the world before the first aid convoys arrived late Tuesday.

The city has buried thousands of people in mass graves, Libyan officials said Thursday, and the city’s mayor said that the death toll could triple or more.

Health officials have confirmed 5,100 deaths and say 9,000 people are still missing.

As of Wednesday, at least 30,000 people were displaced by the flooding in Derna, the UN’s International Organization for Migration said.



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