Libya Deaths News Today

Devastating flooding caused by heavy rains in eastern Libya has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people and displaced tens of thousands more. The city of Derna was hit particularly hard, with two dams collapsing and causing a wall of water to rush through the city. Many residents are still waiting for news about missing relatives and loved ones.

Torrential rains from Storm Daniel shattered two dams near Derna, on Libya’s northeastern coast, over the weekend, destroying much of the city and washing entire neighborhoods out to sea.

Poor emergency warning systems and slow response affected disaster management.

The United Nations said Thursday that most of the thousands of deaths in Libya's flood disaster could have been averted if early warning and emergency management systems had functioned properly.

As of Wednesday, at least 30,000 people were displaced by the flooding in Derna, the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration said.

In Libya, eight months of rain fell in just a few days, causing two dams to burst and killing thousands of people. Satellite imagery lays bare the harrowing consequences.