Flooding in Derna, LibyaWhat Led to the Catastrophic Flooding in Derna, Libya?
Max Tanner
, (University of Michigan)
Mitali Sharma
, and (University of Michigan)
Anusuya Singh
(University of Michigan)
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On September 11, 2023, Medicane Daniel caused two dams in Derna, Libya to fail — leading to the second deadliest dam disaster in history.
The storm dropped four inches of rain on the city, a record number of for a place that usually receives less than 0.1 inches of rain in the whole month of September. Up to 20,000 people, one-fifth of the city population, are reported dead or missing. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed and tens of thousands of residents were displaced. Despite having raised concerns about the integrity of the dams, residents were given no warning of potential flooding. These injustices, compounded by political authorities attempting to block humanitarian aid from entering the region, has made post-disaster Derna a site of not only grief, but rage and resistance.
Learning objectives
- Identify the various actors that fed into this complex disaster
- Learn about the socioenvironmental history of Derna and the underlying issues of the failed dams
- Understand how political instability and corruption degrade urban infrastructure
- Understand how climate change and geopolitics work hand-in-hand to create disaster
- Understand the role of urban infrastructure in mitigating the effects of climate change
- Think critically about the role of residents and community activists in urban sustainability planning
- Think critically about the role of international policy in urban climate justice