The World Bank, the United Nations (UN), and the European Union (EU) have released a report marking six months since Storm Daniel struck eastern Libya in September last year.
The report indicates that the disaster affected approximately 1.5 million people, equivalent to 22% of Libya’s population.
Estimates suggest that the recovery and reconstruction needs following the catastrophic floods caused by the storm amount to around $1.8 billion.
The housing sector suffered the most significant damage, with over 18,500 residential units destroyed or damaged, representing 7% of Libya’s total housing units.
According to the World Bank, approximately 44,000 individuals, including 16,000 children, were displaced as a result of the storm.
On the 10th of September, a devastating storm swept through several eastern regions of Libya, notably the cities of Derna, Benghazi, Al-Bayda, Al-Marj, and Sousse. This resulted in significant destruction and led to the loss of thousands of lives, injuries, and missing individuals.
Notably, a Libyan court has postponed the case of the Derna Dam collapse to March 24th, according to the victims’ lawyer, Mohamed Jebril.
Jebril stated that they requested a verdict reservation and submitted a civil lawsuit against the accused. The court session was adjourned based on the defendants’ lawyers’ request.
The court decided to proceed with the case and set a new session date for other defendants’ lawyers. The charges mainly include negligence, mismanagement, and financial waste.
The accusations, documented in a 49-page indictment, attribute administrative corruption to the defendants, backed by investigations from the Attorney General’s Office.
The public prosecution presented its evidence during the session before the court panel.
In January, the Libyan Attorney General, Al-Siddiq Al-Sour, announced the results of investigations into the disaster of Storm Daniel. The storm claimed the lives of thousands in eastern Libya.
The investigations into the disaster in Derna revealed “negligence in maintaining the city’s dams,” characterised by the “absence of an alarm system in both dams and neglect of cleaning operations for upper openings, as well as routine maintenance.”
The total number of recorded deaths due to the floods in Derna has reached 4,540 people, including 3,964 Libyans and 576 foreigners.
