On Sunday, a Mediterranean storm brought record-setting rainfall to much of Libya, filling rivers, overwhelming dams, and sweeping away entire neighborhoods in several coastal towns. Local authorities said that more than 5,100 people have been killed by the powerful flooding. Derna was one of the worst-hit cities after two dams failed and torrents of water rushed through its streets, destroying dozens of buildings. Foreign rescue crews are still arriving, lending assistance to local teams who are working to find any survivors among the debris.
Photos From Libya’s Devastating Floods
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![Muddy water rushes in a river channel past heavily damaged buildings after a flood.]()
Read morePeople look at the damage caused by flooding in Derna, eastern Libya, on September 11, 2023. #
AFP / Getty -
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![Several people stand on what remains of a road bridge that has been washed away by a flood, beside many damaged buildings.]()
Read moreA view of the flood-damaged city of Derna is seen on September 12, 2023. #
Jamal Alkomaty / AP -
![A pair of satellite images shows a coastal city before and after a flood cut a broad swath through its streets.]()
Read moreA before-and-after pair of satellite images shows the city of Derna, Libya, on September 2, 2023, and again on September 12, 2023, after strong floodwaters had rushed through its streets and buildings. #
Planet Labs PBC / Reuters -
![People stand on a damaged road, much of it torn away by flooding.]()
Read morePeople stand on a damaged road after heavy rainfall flooded Shahhat city, Libya, on September 11, 2023. #
Omar Jarhman / Reuters -
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![Piles of flood debris sit alongside damaged residential buildings.]()
Read moreExtensive flood damage, seen in Derna on September 11, 2023 #
AFP / Getty -
![An elevated view of a flood-damaged road across a broad plain.]()
Read moreAn elevated view of a flood-damaged road in Al-Mukhaili, Libya, seen on September 11, 2023 #
Libya Al-Hadath / Reuters -
![A wrecked car sits upside-down among piles of flood debris in a street.]()
Read moreA wrecked car sits among flood debris in Derna on September 13, 2023. #
Ayman Al-Sahili / Reuters -
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![An aerial view of a heavily flood-damaged town center, with many flattened or destroyed buildings]()
Read moreA view of the city of Derna following heavy flooding on September 12, 2023 #
Jamal Alkomaty / AP -
![A crew of rescuers work to carry a person over muddy ground.]()
Read moreLibyan Red Crescent volunteers take part in a rescue operation in the aftermath of a powerful storm and heavy rainfall that hit Libya, in an unidentified location in Libya in this screengrab obtained from a social-media video on September 13, 2023. #
Libyan Red Crescent / Reuters -
![Several damaged cars rest on a large pile of rocks, among other debris, along a coastline.]()
Read moreSeveral damaged cars, pushed onto coastal rocks by flooding, are seen in Derna, Libya, on September 12, 2023. #
Esam Omran Al-Fetori / Reuters -
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![An excavator sits beside a broad pit that has been filled with dozens of bodies wrapped in fabric.]()
Read moreBodies of victims are placed in a mass grave after a powerful storm and heavy rainfall hit Libya, in Derna, on September 12, 2023. #
Ayman Al-Sahili / Reuters -
![A man sits on a damaged car among mud and debris, in a street.]()
Read moreA man sits on a damaged car in a street in Derna on September 12, 2023. #
Esam Omran Al-Fetori / Reuters -
![A pair of minarets stand in the background, behind a large pile of flood debris.]()
Read moreA view of the devastation in Derna, seen on September 12, 2023 #
Abdullah Mohammed Bonja / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![An elevated view of extensive flood damage along a river channel through a city]()
Read moreA view of the damaged channel that carried the Wadi Derna river through the city of Derna, flanked by extensive flood damage, seen on September 12, 2023 #
Jamal Alkomaty / AP -
![A car and other flood debris sit wedged inside a building.]()
Read moreA car and other flood debris sit wedged inside a building following flooding in Derna, seen on September 11, 2023. #
Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![People walk over loose rocks, mud, and debris, among many damaged buildings.]()
Read moreA wide view of scoured ground and debris left behind by flooding through the city of Derna on September 12, 2023 #
Abdullah Mohammed Bonja / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![Workers unload relief items from a military cargo aircraft.]()
Read moreWorkers unload relief items from a military cargo aircraft arriving from Qatar to provide support on the ground, at Benina International Airport, in Benghazi, Libya, on September 13, 2023. #
Imad Creidi / Reuters
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