Severe floods in western Libya cause deaths and physical damage

Several cities in western Libya witnessed on the night (Thursday to Friday, September 24/25) severe floods resulting from heavy rains, causing collapses and interruptions of electricity and drinking water. In the city of Mizda, whose population does not exceed 30,000 people and which is located in a semi-desert area where rain rarely falls, the floods caused “complete darkness as a result of power outages and falling lighting poles,” according to what Omar Kashaka, spokesman for the municipal council in the city, which is about 165 kilometers south of Tripoli, said in statements to a local channel.

According to what the Libyan Ambulance and Emergency Service announced on its Facebook page, there are missing persons and drowning cases as a result of the torrents that swept through the city of Mizda in the Western Mountain region, northwestern Libya.

The storms and heavy rains resulted in the death of a family consisting of a father, mother, and daughter, and the loss of at least three others... According to the Libyan Red Crescent, the strength of the current and the rugged terrain prevented rescue teams from reaching the car in time.

A city declares itself a disaster area

In the Bani Walid area (170 kilometers south of Tripoli), rescue teams intervened to rescue residents stuck in their vehicles who were swept away by mudslides. The authorities declared the city of Nessma (150 kilometers south of Tripoli) a disaster area due to damage caused by rain and torrents.

According to the mayor, Ahmed Al-Sid, the floods damaged road networks, toppled many towers, and caused major problems in the electricity network, and the hospital in Nesma stopped working.

Weak infrastructure

These floods raised Libyans’ fears of a repeat of the scenario in the city of Derna in 2023. This was pointed out by a number of social media users who exchanged pictures and video clips documenting the scale of the disaster in a number of Libyan cities.

Others also shared pictures and video clips of people stuck in their cars or trying to survive mudslides.

While a number of activists denounced what Libya has reached under successive governments that did not serve the country's infrastructure.

For his part, the Prime Minister in Tripoli, Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, commented on the current floods in a post on the