20 years cracked and without maintenance: what the investigation reveals about the Libyan dams that contributed to the tragedy

The preliminary results of the open investigation into the collapse of the two dams in Derna, east of Libyareveal the appearance of the first cracks in 1999 and the lack of maintenance despite the recommendations of a foreign audit consulted in 2002, which could have drastically limited the number of victims, which today exceeds 11,300.

The Turkish company hired for the aforementioned study would have proposed carrying out maintenance on both dams and building a third. to reduce the pressure for which work began in 2010 – despite late payments – although it was suspended a year later, following the popular uprising supported by NATO that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.

LOOK: Storm, hot sea and broken dams: this was the tragedy in Libya that left thousands dead and missing

The head of the Presidential Council – who functions as Head of State – Mohamed Al ManfiThis Thursday, he asked the Attorney General of the Republic to open this investigation to determine the reasons for its collapse, as well as any possible negligence and identify those responsible.

On the other hand, the spokesperson for the Ambulance and Emergency Service, Osama Ali, stated that There are discrepancies between the victim statistics offered by each organization Therefore, your service will refrain from providing new numbers until they are “accurate and official.”

The consequences of flash floods caused by Storm Daniel in the port city of Derna in eastern Libya. (AFP). (FLYER/)

Today the Red Crescent launched a hotline to report missing people and asked family members to travel to one of its headquarters to register the information, in order to create a unified database.

The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) of the World Organization for Migration (IOM) – which monitors population movements and mobility – considers that Almost 113 thousand migrants are in this region, of which 8,600 in Dernathe majority come from Egypt, Sudan and Chad, so it is expected that the various embassies will confirm the death or disappearance of their nationals.

Devastation in the coastal city of Derna, Libya, due to flash floods when two dams broke and unleashed torrents of water that destroyed bridges and leveled entire neighborhoods. (Photo: AFP). (-/)

The director of the Center for Disease Control, Haider Al Sayeh, assured that the epidemiological situation is “stable” and does not reach the level of danger thanks to citizen awareness campaigns.

For that Authorities will begin a 50,000-dose vaccination campaign against cholera for minors in Denra and neighboring municipalities next Sunday. The environmental sanitation agency called for the city to be cleaned using pesticides and the closure of wells and sewage networks in the affected areas.

Last Sunday, torrential rains caused by Cyclone Daniel devastated the northeast of Libyan territory.especially in the coastal city of Dernawhere caused the collapse of two damsdumping 33 million liters of water in the early hours of the morning and washing entire residential areas, bridges and roads into the sea.

The political division further complicates rescue and reconstruction tasks in this country of seven million inhabitants, immersed in more than a decade of conflict. Two opposing authorities share power: the Government of National Unity (GNU), based in Tripoli (west) and recognized by the international community, of Abdulhamid Dbeiba; and the Government of Benghazi, elected by Parliament and under the control of Haftar, led by Osama Hammad.

Source: Elcomercio