A year on, politics plague rebuilding efforts in Libya’s flood ravaged Derna

A year after devastating floods in eastern Libya killed nearly 4,000 people, reconstruction efforts have bolstered the influence of military strongman Khalifa Haftar, experts say. The 2023 disaster, triggered by extreme rainfall from the hurricane-strength Storm Daniel, saw two dams bursts in Derna, displacing over 40,000. The tragedy highlighted Libya's fractured governance and sparked widespread calls for accountability amid crumbling infrastructure.

A year after flooding in eastern Libya killed thousands and razed entire neighbourhoods, reconstruction is allowing military strongman to wield further power in the divided country, experts say. On September 10, 2023, extreme rainfall from the hurricane-strength Storm Daniel caused two dams to burst in the coastal city of Derna, some 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) east of the capital Tripoli. This led to flooding that killed nearly 4,000 people, others, according to the United Nations.



The tragedy sent shockwaves across the oil-rich North African country, casting a harsh light on Libya's crumbling infrastructure and the dysfunction among its divided rulers, and sparking angry demands for accountability. Libya is still grappling with the aftermath of the armed conflict and political chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Derna, once home to around 120,000 inhabitants, has become a vast construction site, where homes, schools, roads and bridges are being rebuilt.

Read also:.