Mustafa Al-Bahbah, the Head of the Crisis Management Committee in Zliten Municipality, confirmed the arrival of an international team in Tripoli on Thursday. The team is tasked with studying the crisis of rising groundwater levels in the municipality.
In statements to the Hakomitna platform affiliated with the Government of National Unity (GNU), Al-Bahbah announced that the team would begin their on-site work in Zliten on Friday morning.
He highlighted the ongoing efforts to provide alternative housing for affected families, contingent upon the receipt and verification of their files.
Al-Bahbah further explained that a committee from the Ministry of Housing and Construction has been formed to survey the damaged areas and homes within three localities in the municipality.
The Head of the committee also mentioned that the Environmental Sanitation Administration is continuing to study and analyse the elevated water levels. The preliminary assessments indicate no risk of mixing with sea water.
Notably, the Prime Minister of Libya’s eastern government, Osama Hammad, briefed Parliament Speaker Ageela Saleh on Wednesday about the government’s recent actions to mitigate the water crisis in Zliten. This crisis, marked by rising groundwater levels, has prompted significant concern and urgent measures to protect the city’s residents.
In a statement following their meeting, Hammad conveyed to Saleh that immediate interventions have been launched to confront the escalating situation in Zliten. Saleh, in turn, pressed for the rapid identification and implementation of solutions to safeguard citizens and ensure their access to essential services.
This discussion comes after Hammad’s declaration of a state of emergency in Zliten, recognizing the urgent need for exceptional measures to address the groundwater surge and its potential impacts on public safety and infrastructure.
The urgency of the situation was further discussed in a meeting in Benghazi, where Hammad, alongside members of the House of Representatives from Zliten and Deputy Minister of Local Governance, Abubakr Msadef, reviewed the groundwater crisis and its risks to life and property in the city.
The government’s commitment to addressing the crisis includes strategizing for immediate relief efforts and exploring sustainable long-term solutions to prevent future occurrences. The situation in Zliten is a stark reminder of the broader environmental challenges faced by several Libyan cities, particularly in the aftermath of a devastating storm that affected the eastern regions of Libya, causing widespread damage and loss of life.
The stance taken by Hammad’s government reflects a concerted effort to tackle the environmental and humanitarian challenges posed by the groundwater crisis, with a focus on both immediate response measures and the development of resilience strategies for affected communities.
