Are floods in Libya the worst example of Disaster Governance?
The flood disaster in Libya is one of the worst disasters that occurred in the war-torn country. The flood disaster resulted in the deaths of over 11,300 people, at least 10,000 are still missing, and more than 30,000 have been displaced. The city of Derna was particularly hard hit, with almost 900 buildings completely destroyed and a quarter of the city’s population affected.
Storm Daniel made landfall in Libya on Sunday, 10 September 2023, and caused severe weather conditions, including strong winds and sudden heavy rainfall, affecting several northeastern areas of Libya. The heavy rainfall led to the collapse of two dams, which exacerbated the flooding. The coastal city of Derna was the worst hit, with entire neighborhoods believed to have been washed away. With a very limited capacity, emergency teams are working to find survivors and retrieve bodies.
The term “consecutive disasters” means “two or more disasters that occur in succession and whose direct impacts overlap spatially before recovery from a previous event is considered to be completed.” Libya, already going through multiple disasters and not known for its efficient institutions, and the ongoing civil war for a decade worsened the capacity of organizations working in civil administration. Low local institutional capacity, civil war, no international humanitarian agencies on the ground, and ever-growing climate change challenges exacerbated the current disaster in Libya many fold.
Is this the worst disaster governance example in recent history? UNDRR states, “Disaster governance refers to the system of institutions, mechanisms, policy and legal frameworks, and other arrangements that guide, coordinate, and oversee disaster risk reduction and related areas of policy.” Furthermore, “It encompasses a broad range of public, private, and not-for-profit organizations, international institutions, national and transnational regulations, guidelines, and practices intended to guide concerted actions to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from man-made and natural disasters.”
If we talk about disaster governance in the context of the Libyan flood disaster. It’s the local institutions, disaster mechanisms, policy and legal frameworks, international humanitarian coordination, early warning systems, and capacity to respond immediately after the disaster.
In Libya’s case, the relief workers struggled to deliver aid due to the political divisions and debris from the disaster. For the institutions the political divisions hindered the effectiveness of these institutions. Unfortunately, Libya lacks early warning systems for extreme weather events. Due to its limited capacity, the early warnings did not trigger a system-wide response before and after the disaster. The UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) secretary-general, Petteri Taalas, stated that if there had been a normally operating meteorological service, they would have issued warnings and carried out evacuations of the people, which could have avoided most of the human casualties2.
Years of civil war-torn the law and order and policies that govern disaster management, including building codes designed to withstand extreme weather events and policies on evacuating citizens in the event of a disaster.
Climate change, prolonged civil conflict, no institutional capacity, and international sanctions contributed to the damage wrought by some of Libya’s worst floods in history. The devastating damage is credited to the pre-existing conditions in Libya.
Several pre-existing factors exacerbated the flood disaster in Libya. The heavy rainfall led to the rupture of two dams in Derna that wiped out the entire buildings with a seven-meter wave. The critical infrastructure failure resulted from years of neglect during the civil war.
The city of Derna was already struggling with multiple governance issues, and the floods only exposed and exacerbated these problems. Experts suggest these factors combined led to a devastating impact on Libya, causing thousands of deaths and leaving many more missing.
The Libyan flood disaster highlights several disaster governance challenges that are often faced by developing countries. The crumbling infrastructure that failed the city of Dera is a very familiar challenge in many developing world cities. This underscores the need for robust and well-maintained infrastructure to prevent or mitigate the effects of natural disasters.
Inadequate early warning systems largely contributed to a number of casualties where people were not evacuated in time, leading to many casualties. This highlights the importance of investing in early warning systems that trickled the city’s civil defense agencies, ensuring timely evacuation of vulnerable populations.
Continuous political stability is mandatory for effective disaster management systems to ensure cities are prepared for such disasters. Active community participation in disaster mitigation and risk reduction are continuous activities requiring substantial planning and resources tied to the country’s political stability. It is also linked to pre-existing community vulnerabilities, such as poverty and lack of access to essential services. States struggling to provide the basic services and resources for disaster preparedness and response suffer more from disasters.
These challenges underscore the importance of effective disaster governance in developing countries. It’s crucial for these countries to invest in infrastructure, establish early warning systems, ensure political stability, improve disaster response mechanisms, and address pre-existing vulnerabilities in communities.
The situation is similar to the 2008 Cyclone Nirgis in Myanmar, where the state hindered the early response phase by not allowing the humanitarian agencies on the ground. The opposing governments in Libya are doing the same, not allowing the affected region’s international humanitarian agencies and journalists. There is a risk that the international community facing hindrances in response to the disaster will eventually abandon the country, as has happened on many other occasions in the past.
Experts suggest storm Danial was like a tropical cyclone, which is unprecedented in this area. Such phenomena are attributed to climate change. No country in the world is immune to climate change, but developing and underdeveloped countries face more devastation than others.
Developing countries facing climate change challenges can learn several lessons from the Libyan flood disaster. Many gaps require investment in infrastructure, establishing early warning systems, improving disaster response, political stability, addressing pre-existing vulnerabilities, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and continuous community education and awareness.
By learning from the Libyan flood disaster, developing countries can better prepare for and respond to climate change challenges.
