“No one expected this,” said Fadelallah, who asked that his surname not be used because he fears reprisal from government officials and armed groups who could view his story as criticism of their efforts.Torrential rains from Mediterranean storm Daniel gushed down steep mountainsides. Those who survived recount nightmarish scenes, with bodies piling up quicker than authorities can count them.
A destroyed vehicle crashed into a building in the wake of floods after the Mediterranean storm ‘Daniel’ hit Libya’s eastern city of Derna.Ibrahim Moussa said the nearest dam burst in the early hours of Monday. “They were screaming, help, help,” he said over the phone from a field hospital in Derna. “It was like a Hollywood horror movie.”
As of Wednesday, at least 30,000 people were displaced by the flooding in Derna, the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration said. Many fled to nearby cities and towns less impacted by the storm.“Everything has gone,” said Yassin, who waded barefoot with her family through knee-deep water to leave her neighborhood. “The city itself has gone.”