Libya flash floods 'like 7m high tsunami'

Floodwaters like a 7-meter-high tsunami swept through the coastal city of Libya, causing damage so severe that it will take years to recover.

"This disaster is terrible. Many people are still missing, many bodies have washed ashore and houses have been destroyed," Yann Fridez, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Libya, said on September 14.

Heavy rains from Storm Daniel earlier this week caused two dams on the upper reaches of the river that runs through the city of Derna to burst, sending torrents of water rushing into the city, destroying everything and sweeping everything out to sea.

Eyewitness video shows floodwaters initially trickling down the dry riverbed. But after the dam burst, a huge torrent of water poured down from the mountains, smashing into buildings and sweeping away cars.

Libya flash floods 'like 7m high tsunami' — The moment flash floods hit the city of Derna, eastern Libya. Video: *Mojo*

“Water higher than a six-story building swept through the area like a tsunami,” former Libyan health minister Reida El Oakley said on September 13. The flash floods have killed more than 5,300 people in the area. Officials fear the death toll could rise rapidly, as many victims remain missing.

"Floodwaters up to 7 metres high swept buildings and infrastructure into the sea," Fridez said, adding that it could take Libyans "months, even years, to recover from this disaster".

The ICRC said access to areas devastated by the flash floods remained a major challenge because of destroyed roads. The ICRC support team distributed around 6,000 body bags to forensic teams in Benghazi to “process the bodies”.

An area in Derna, Libya, washed away by floodwaters in this photo taken on September 13. Photo: AFP — An area in Derna, Libya, washed away by floodwaters in this photo taken on September 13. Photo: *AFP*

Libyan Khaled Al-Shuwaihed said the situation in Derna was "catastrophic".

"It took all my friends," Al-Shuwaihed said. "One of my friends died while filming at the top of the valley. A man named Nasir Fatoury and his children were presumed dead, but their bodies have not been found."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that at least 5,000 people are missing, while local officials say about 10,000 are still unaccounted for, possibly swept out to sea or buried in the rubble. Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi, the mayor of Derna, warned on September 13 that the death toll could be as high as 18,000 or 20,000.