Dina Mahmoud (Benghazi, London)
With the passage of 4 months since the massive floods that struck Derna on September 10 of last year, which led to the death and loss of thousands of people, and caused widespread destruction to this coastal city located in northeastern Libya, the city is still awaiting reconstruction, as the size of this… The disaster poses a huge challenge to the authorities, both at the local and national levels in the country.
Containing the ongoing devastating consequences of these disastrous floods, according to experts, requires continuing coordinated efforts to facilitate the reconstruction process, which is still faltering, despite the local authorities’ preoccupation with providing assistance and support to the afflicted, providing temporary shelter centers for them, and distributing relief supplies to them. The Reconstruction Fund for Derna and the affected cities and regions confirms that work will continue to open new paths and prepare roads in all Derna neighborhoods.
The experts stressed that the crisis facing Derna, since it was ravaged by floods, has made it in dire need of receiving support and humanitarian aid from the international community, in order to provide larger quantities of basic goods to those affected, and to enhance medical care services directed to them, in addition to preparing and equipping more places. Residency for those who were displaced as a result of this disaster.
They pointed out that meeting these urgent humanitarian needs does not substitute for launching long-term initiatives that focus on restoring the destroyed infrastructure in Derna and providing psychological care to its affected residents, which will play a vital role in helping the local community recover.
Psychological support services gain importance, given that the Derna floods not only caused massive human and material damage, but also had broad impacts on the psychological state of the population, who had previously endured the hardships of the period during which Derna was subject to the control of the terrorist organization ISIS, from Late 2014 to mid-2018.
Observers of Libyan affairs say that the four years of terrorism hampered efforts that aimed to take advantage of Derna’s distinguished coastal location and turn the page on the marginalization it had suffered from for a long time, which led to the deterioration of the conditions of its infrastructure facilities, especially schools and hospitals. Following the September floods, observers wondered whether allowing the residents of Derna to return to it immediately after its liberation from the hands of ISIS in 2018 was a correct step or not, given the continuing political divisions in Libya, which, after the recent disaster occurred, almost prevented the convening of an international conference. , for reconstruction in the city. Among the questions raised by that disaster, according to a report published by the Eurasia Review website, is whether local officials, who were accused of negligence in maintaining infrastructure facilities in Derna, especially the city’s two dams that collapsed under the weight of the floods, will be held accountable. Its human and material losses have reached unprecedented levels.
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