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  • 9/14/2023

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Transcript
00:00 is still in shock after massive flooding that all but destroyed this city in the east of
00:05 Libya.
00:06 On Sunday night, storm Daniel struck and when two upstream dams burst, they unleashed what
00:12 residents described as a tsunami on the city.
00:16 Like many others, this man has been unable to locate his relatives, for whom he fears
00:20 the worst.
00:21 "It's a disaster beyond our imagination.
00:26 We thought it was just floods, that the water would go down, but the mud is the greatest
00:30 problem.
00:31 Bodies are buried under piles of mud and debris, three or four meters of mud."
00:36 These Sudanese migrant workers were woken by a loud bang at about 3am on Monday and
00:42 described the horror of what they saw as the water's rose.
00:46 "First of all, there are around 14 or 15 families that were swept away by the sea.
00:53 Anyone who was in the valley was swept away.
00:55 Nine other people who live directly on the coast are gone.
00:58 May they rest in peace."
01:03 The floods have cast into cold light the damage wrought by a decade of instability in Libya,
01:08 which continues to be ruled by rival governments based in the west and east of the country.
01:13 This has left Libya sorely unprepared for such storms, according to the World Meteorological
01:18 Organization.
01:19 "Since the security situation in the country is so difficult, it's difficult to go there
01:26 and improve the situation.
01:29 And the med service is practically not functioning.
01:33 The flooding event just came there and there was no evacuation taking place because there
01:39 was not the proper early warning services in place."
01:45 Critics are already castigating authorities in the east for their alleged negligence in
01:50 maintaining the two dams and for failing to evacuate regions at risk ahead of the storm.

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