As Libyans try to come to terms with the thousands of deaths caused by recent devastating flooding, some have turned grief into anger and blamed the country's rival administrations who are fighting over power.
Worst hit was the port city of Derna, in eastern Libya, where more than 11,000 people died, with at least 10,000 more missing, the Libyan Red Crescent said on Thursday.
Four days earlier, torrential rain from Storm Daniel – which has wreaked havoc around the Mediterranean – caused the collapse two dams that unleashed a wall of water that swept whole neighbourhoods away.
“There should have been warnings, precautionary measures or any preparations,” said Nour Eljerbi, a Libyan journalist who lost relatives in the floods.
“Civil defence forces should have been braced.
“The governments knew a storm was on its way to Libya’s eastern regions, but did nothing.
“Some people were peacefully asleep in homes they deemed safe, completely unaware of the storm, and were washed away.
“The government is completely responsible for this."
Libya has been torn between two administrations since 2015.
In the eastern port city of Tobruk, Osama Hamad leads the House of Representatives. In Tripoli, in the west, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah leads the UN-backed Government of National Unity.
The rival governments are competing for control over the oil-rich country's resources.
According to the head of UN's World Meteorological Organisation, most casualties could have been avoided if the country had a functional weather service able to issue warnings.
“The emergency management authorities would have been able to carry out evacuation of the people. And we could have avoided most of the human casualties,” WMO secretary general Petteri Taalas said in Geneva on Thursday.
Khaled Al Saeedi, a teacher from Al Bayda, a flood-hit city about 100km west of Derna, said the devastation in his hometown and other parts of eastern Libya was the result of nothing but negligence.
“Governments are competing over power, and rather than caring for the well-being of the citizens, they’re busy with what they can gain from them,” he said.
He accused officials of neglecting to conduct maintenance work needed on the two dams at the Wadi Derna that collapsed.
Journalist Ali Al Zaidani from Benghazi, another city in the affected region, described the death toll as “an unprecedented catastrophe which Libya had seen nothing like in all its history”.
“Those responsible for negligence and failure to maintain the Derna dams, although budgets were allocated for this, must be held accountable,” he said.
On Thursday, the official news agency quoted Abdel Moneim Al Orfi, a member of the eastern parliament, as holding the feuding governments responsible for the collapse of dams in Wadi Derna.
He said the rivals failed to take precautionary measures to evacuate residents and limit the loss of lives, it was reported.
Mr Al Orfi said millions of dollars allocated in 2010 for the maintenance of these dams was misplaced after 2011, when the uprising that toppled the dictator Muammar Qaddafi led to the departure of a Turkish company responsible for the work.
This article was published in collaboration with Egab
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Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
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Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
