The same storm that pummeled Greece in recent days reformed itself as a cyclone – “Medicane” – over the Mediterranean, and hit Libya. Mass casualties feared after apparent dam collapse.
A powerful storm that unleashed torrential rain and extreme flooding across eastern Libya has devastated entire communities on its Mediterranean coastline, causing widespread destruction and an unknown number of fatalities, officials said.
Authorities declared the city of Derna a disaster zone after dams burst and floodwaters inundated neighborhoods early Monday, washing away cars and city blocks and leaving a muddy, churning river in their wake.
At least 150 people were killed in Derna as a result of the tropical-storm-like storm, named Daniel, an official with the Libyan Red Crescent said to Reuters, adding that the organization expected the death toll to rise.
Libya is politically and geographically split between east and west and ruled by two rival governments, including a United Nations-backed administration in Tripoli. In eastern Libya, officials said that thousands were believed dead or missing in Derna.
The Wadi Darnah dam didn’t look that structurally sophisticated. They never dreamed of getting that volume of water.
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.6588515,22.5776587,576m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu