Tragedy Strikes Derna, Libya: Thousands Still Missing After Devastating Floods
Derna, Libya – The aftermath of catastrophic floods in the Libyan city of Derna has left the region in despair, as thousands of people remain missing and presumed dead. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), close to 4,000 people have perished in Derna after heavy rainfall and the collapse of two dams lead to fierce flooding.
Volunteers at the Martoba cemetery, just outside of Derna, have been working tirelessly to bury the deceased and provide some closure to grieving families. Men in hazmat suits pour lime over the brown soil, sealing the graves, while rows of trenches await the bodies yet to be found. Mohamed el-Sharwy, a school principal and volunteer at the cemetery, expresses his hope that the reported numbers of casualties are not accurate, but fears that they might be.
In the first three days following the disaster, over 2,500 bodies were buried in an effort to prevent infections and diseases from spreading. The city’s hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed, unable to handle the influx of the dead. Martoba cemetery, one of three designated for flood victims, received more than 1,000 bodies within the first week alone. The bodies were initially buried in graves divided by cement bricks, each holding six or seven bodies. However, as bodies retrieved from the sea and debris arrived in a decomposed state, the graves had to be reconfigured to hold only three bodies each. In the absence of visual identification, officials have begun to collect DNA samples ahead of burials.
The arrival of two trucks at Martoba cemetery turns the area into a hive of activity, albeit a somber one. Men gather to perform funeral prayers for victims only identified by numbers and then lay white body bags into freshly dug holes. The makeshift graves are large enough to accommodate 35 bodies. As the sun sets, men line the edges of the graves, shoveling dirt as excavators fill the holes. The emotional toll on the volunteers is overwhelming, with Mohamed el-Sharwy admitting that he cannot sleep at night, finding only brief moments of rest before resuming his work the following day.
Amidst the aftermath, survivors like Akram al-Kawwash, who lost not only his brother but his brother’s children and his neighbors, find themselves in a state of profound trauma and loss. Sitting on the rubble of what used to be his brother’s house, al-Kawwash struggles to remember their last phone conversation before the floods, the weight of his grief evident in his tear-filled eyes. The search for loved ones continues for him and other survivors, as they sit under makeshift tents in front of collapsed buildings. Graffiti expressing sorrow and farewells are the only means for some to say goodbye.
Abdallah al-Sheikh, another survivor, shares his pain with al-Kawwash. He has lost 25 family members and has only found the bodies of four of them. As he recalls the ordeal of jumping from rooftop to rooftop with his 10-year-old son during the floods, he remains haunted by the fact that he was unable to find the rest of his family. With no support available, neighbors had to rely on each other for help. The wreckage left behind only revealed the bodies of neighbors and a few survivors.
As Derna grapples with the magnitude of this tragedy, the people bravely accept their fate as “God’s will.” The search for missing loved ones continues, and residents hope for closure amidst the devastation.